The Uchiha Clan Heirs
by RagingFireSoul
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha has been back in the Hidden Leaf Village for 3 years. Now, he has a family by his side, a new role and a new mission. It's time for him to fulfill his long lost dream. Restoring the Uchiha Clan. He must face ghosts from the past, clean a tainted name and open a path for his descendants, which will someday reclaim their rightful place in the village.
1. The Uchiha Family

_Hello everyone! It's been quite a long time since I last wrote anything for Fanfiction. About 3 years. Man, does time fly. Anyway, here I am, writing another story, taking a shot with Naruto. I had this crazy idea, that I think people will like it, so here it goes._

 _First things first, before you read, there's a couple of things you should know. In this story, the events of "Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring" and "Boruto: Naruto The Movie" have happened. What has happened in the anime until the Momoshiki arc is also "canon" here. But, what happens in the Boruto manga and the anime (anime is still in the Chunin exams arc as I'm writing this) after that is off the table. We are taking an entirely different path from that point onwards._

 _Sarada is 16 years old. We are picking it back up after a 3 year timeskip. Sasuke has been back in the village since then. This story is going to shift the protagonist role to the Uchiha family, you're going to see a lot more of Sarada and a lot less of Boruto, Sasuke and Sakura's relationship will be explored and told with flashbacks. Basically, I think that the current series is not doing a good job with these characters, and I'm doing just that with this story. I'm not going to go into more details and spoil the BIG thing I have under my sleeve, so I'll let the story do everything now._

 _Enjoy!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Please support the official release._

 _ **Warning:** Expect curses, violence and sexual content._

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Hashirama Senju's cells. That's all that Sakura Uchiha could think about at the moment. A Hidden Leaf shinobi had his hand cut off in a recent mission. Another case of hundreds of shinobi who had limbs severed. The Hidden Leaf's medical shinobi were proud to say that they found a "cure" to this condition ever since Tsunade Senju first used the method to give the Seventh Hokage another arm after losing his in the 4th Great Ninja War. That is at least, on record. Madara and Obito Uchiha were the pioneers of this method, but the world can't know about that. Tsunade, now retired, passed down this secret to her disciple, Sakura, and now, it was up to her to develop this technique. Make the process more efficient, faster, cheaper. Improve and share this procedure so that every shinobi in the world could get what they lost back. She had made some progress. The process no longer took months. Last time she did this was with her own husband, when she took it upon herself to give her husband a new arm after finally convincing him that he should not go around missing his dominant hand. Shizune used to be in charge of this project. But Sakura took over, after all , she had plenty of motivation, her husband being the trigger. Being the gifted medical ninja she was, she made important breakthroughs, but not enough. How to mass produce artificial limbs without making human sacrifices and growing white Zetsu's, that was Sakura's current determination.

Sakura was sitting at the table of her kitchen, looking at everything she had at her disposal to do that. It was her day off, but she couldn't afford to just rest. This was one of her many responsibilities as the Head of the Hidden Leaf's medical shinobi. She couldn't find anything. She couldn't help but let out a frustrated groan.

"You should take a rest mom, I doubt you'll accomplish anything like that" Sarada said, who was washing the dishes.

Sakura looked up and felt a bit of diziness. She really was overdoing it. She hadn't even noticed that her daughter finished breakfast, got dressed and started washing the dishes. It was very odd for her to do that without telling her. Sakura felt pride for her daughter. It seemed like it was yesterday when her daughter was a little girl, and now she was a graduated chunin.

"You are in a good mood today" she pointed out. Sarada was a teenager, add the Uchiha genes, so she was prone to being a bit moody and rebellious with her now, so it surprised her to see Sarada so... happy, without a reason. Sakura grinned "you wouldn't happen to have a date with a boy today wouldn't you? You can tell me. Your father is still asleep" she taunted.

"Nope. You are the one who has a date today, mom" Sarada answered, with a smile. Sarada never showed any amusement to her parents being close, not since Sasuke came back. _Weird_. Sakura thought. She got up to get closer to her daughter, and there it was, that strange diziness, again. She couldn't pinpoint it, but something felt odd, and familiar. "I'm sure you are looking forward to getting some time alone with dad, it has been a while" Sakura raised an eyebrow. Something began to click in her mind "I'll even make sure I'm out so that you can-" before Sakura heard something she didn't want to hear from her daughter's mouth, she raised her hand, index and middle fingers raised.

"Release" she said. Sarada began to vanish, and dirty plates appeared on the sink. "That little!" Sakura yelled. That sneaky daughter of hers! Sakura was oficially pissed, her angry fist colliding against the kitchen counter making that clear.

"Sakura. What the hell." her outburst was a bit too strong (Sakura had troubles to control her monstrous strength) and woke Sasuke up, who suddenly appeared behind her, in his underwear, but with a kunai and ready to fight.

"Your daughter used a sharingan genjutsu on me to avoid washing the dishes!" Sakura hissed. For a moment, Sasuke let out a sigh of relief, then he processed the information, and he let out a small chuckle "You think this is funny?" Sasuke gulped as he saw that this made his wife extremely angry "Did you teach her how to do that?" She demanded.

"No" he said "but I find it pretty amusing that she would do exactly the same thing I used to do when we have never even talked about it" he admitted "this means you have gotten soft, falling for a genjutsu of Sarada's level is an embarrasment for the counter genjutsu specialist you once were" he teased.

"Fuck you Sasuke!" she barked.

"That is the plan. Sarada's out. Perfect time for you and me to..." Sasuke tried to seduce her, it's what worked best to calm her down when angry.

"No" she said as she dodged Sasuke when he leaned in for a kiss "not now" she stormed to the front door.

"It's our day off, do you really want to scold our daughter instead of making up for lost time?" he tried to stop her.

"Someone needs to teach our daughter to _not_ use her sharingan on her family, you obviously won't" she retorted as she slammed the front door when she left.

Sasuke sighed. Living with two women was difficult. Way too difficult.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

 _Rasengan Barrage!_

 _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_

 _Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu!_

Ten massive fireballs collided against the surface of a lake, causing an explosion and the water rising to the height of a tsunami. The water cleared to reveal Konohamaru Sarutobi, a Hidden Leaf Jonin, captain of Team 7.

"Nope... the timing wasn't just right" he noted as he looked at his students, at the other side of the lake.

"That was Boruto's fault" Sarada instantly answered.

"Geez, I'm so sorry Sarada" Boruto Uzumaki rolled his eyes "syncing 10 shadow clones making a rasengan and throwing them at the same time is not as easy as it seems" he said as 9 copies of him disappeared.

"Why are you making excuses? This was your idea!" she yelled as she poked his chest with her finger.

"My idea was for you guys to come up with something much cooler! Not just use the lame jutsus you use all the time! What is Mitsuki even doing anyway? He might as well just do nothing!" Boruto yelled back.

"Wind style magnifies fire style. This way we make the firebllas much bigger and stronger" Mitsuki calmly chimed in.

"Whatever, just forget it, let's do something else" Boruto dismissed as he threw his arms behind his head.

"So you just give up after failing on our first try. Typical" Sarada retorted as she folded her arms and looked away.

"I don't. Give. Up." Boruto growled.

"When are both of you going to stop bickering every single day?" Konohamaru sighed as he jumped next to them.

"They're just like a married couple" Mitsuki randomly said.

"What the fuck Mitsuki? Stop saying stuff like that!" Boruto snapped.

"Yeah I guess it has more to do with your fathers. They were just like you because they were rivals, although, my parent would argue that there was more to it..." he said.

"Of course Orochimaru would say something like that. Now _that_ is someone who's really gay" Sarada countered.

"Damn" Boruto couldn't help it. He couldn't get over how 'savage' (as he and his friends would say) Sarada could be sometimes.

"My parent is asexual, not homosexual" Mitsuki explained, nonchalantly. Konohamaru could only facepalm as his students got in yet another weird argument of theirs.

"Asexual or homosexual, your father is a total creep Mitsuki" a female voice said out of nowhere. Team 7 turned around to see Sakura sitting on a rock behind them.

"Mom..." Sarada nervously said as she gulped and took a step back. She knew she was in serious trouble.

"Sakura! To what do we owe this surprise?" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"It's my day off, so I thought I could come down and see how my daughter is doing with the current team 7" she said that glaring at Sarada, who felt a shiver of fear going down her spine.

"This is perfect! We could have them spar against you to practice their new teamwork techniques!" Konohamaru happily suggested. An evil smirk appeared in Sakura's face.

"That sounds like a great idea..." She said as she got up and cracked her knuckles.

"I'd really rather not..." Sarada complained.

"Oh come on Sarada! This sounds awesome! I've never really seen aunt Sakura in action!" Boruto beamed.

"I'd like to test our abilities against the disciple of Princess Tsunade, too" Mitsuki added.

"It's decided then!" Konohamaru declared before Sarada could say anything.

"Don't hold back on me just because I'm a medical ninja, I can assure you I can take whatever you throw at me" Sakura said as she adopted a fighting stance.

"Here we go!" Boruto grinned as he performed the shadow clone hand seal.

Twenty shadow clones appeared around Sakura, she scanned the field as she saw that Mitsuki and Sarada had vanished. Before she could do anything, Boruto's clones charged at her. She handled them with extreme ease, making them disappear with quick and precise punches. She knew this was only a diversion, this was really Naruto's son, she thought. She made the last clone disappear, of course, Boruto went into hiding with the other two. Sakura stood there, anticipating what would happen next. Fire balls rained from a tree behind her, she noticed that they were actually shuriken coated with flames, a trick her husband taught to her daughter. She was bringing in the big guns right from the start, _someone's desperate to not get her punishment,_ Sakura thought as she smirked. She easily dodged all of them, and she would have been surprised when one of them turned into Boruto, but she was totally expecting this. She was there to witness the birth of this technique and knew Konohamaru would teach it to them. She grabbed Boruto by his arm, spun once and threw him back at where he came from. Boruto crashed against the tree, and both him and Sarada fell down to the ground.

"I really hope you can do better than that" Sakura mocked them.

She saw Boruto's grin and instantly felt chakra underground. She jumped as a snake-like arm burst from the ground beneath her. She couldn't dodge in mid-air, so Mitsuki managed to wrap his arm around her body.

"Gotcha!" Boruto exclaimed. Seeing Sakura smirk once again wiped the smile out of his face. Chakra was visually manifesting itself in Sakura's foot.

"Jump!" Sarada screamed as she knew what was about to happen, but Boruto and Mitsuki couldn't react in time. As Sakura landed the ground started shaking, like an earthquake. This caused Mitsuki's arm to retract and release her, he collapsed, as did Boruto. Before Sarada landed Sakura was able to appear behind Mitsuki, a green glow formed around her hand and she hit him in the neck before he could recover. Mitsuki was out.

"What the-?" before Boruto could even process what just happened, Sakura appeared behind him as well and got hit just like Mitsuki, taking him out as well.

"I'm sorry boys but I'm really just here to teach my daughter a lesson" she said as Sarada was the last one standing "don't worry you'll be able to move again shortly, consider this a lesson on how a medical ninja can leave you unable to move if you give us the chance" she smiled.

"So I take it you noticed huh?..." Sarada asked, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

"Of course I did" Sakura said as she put her hand on her hips "you know, your father used to do the exact same thing to me when we started living together"

"He did?"

"Good, at least now I know for sure that your father is innocent of this" she said as she adopted her fighting stance again "but you? Well, you are about to suffer the consequences of using your sharingan on your own mother"

"You wouldn't hurt me, would you mom?" Sarada asked as she got ready to fight as well.

"You'll see" she said as she charged against Sarada.

Sarada managed to dodge every single one of Sakura's attacks. Sakura was impressed, she was greatly holding back of course, but she didn't know Sarada could keep up at this level. A look at Sarada's eyes provided the answers. Sarada awakened her third tomoe. Things made sense now, how she could have even fallen for her genjutsu. Sakura instantly noticed that as soon as she made eye contact, Sarada tried it once again. Although the visual genjutsu landed, Sakura broke free from it just as quickly.

"Sarada" Sakura said as she caught Sarada's fist "I am your mother and your father's wife, I can break through visual genjutsu very easily" she said. Sarada stood there, merciless at Sakura, waiting for a hit that she knew was going to hurt. To her surprise, Sakura let go of Sarada's arm "I'll let you finish your training for now, we'll discuss your punishment later when you get back home" she smiled, and then vanished.

Sarada stood there, confused.

"Your mom seriously kicks ass, Sarada" Boruto said as he managed to stand up.

"Just as I expected from Sakura Uchiha" Mitsuki said as he did the same.

"Well.. that was even more pathetic than I expected" Konohamaru said as he appeared from wherever he was hiding "Sakura dominated you in seconds, and that wasn't even a quarter of what she's truly capable of" he scolded "we have _a lot_ of work to do"

"Yeah..." Sarada agreed.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sakura went back home to see her husband sitting on the couch of the living room, reading the newspaper.

"You're back" he noted "I hope you didn't embarass Sarada too much in front of her friends"

"I wouldn't do such a thing!" Sakura defended herself "I might have been a bit too harsh on Boruto and Mitsuki though.." Sasuke raised his visible eyebrow.

"Actually, I don't want to know" he stated as he reached for a mug of coffe he had on the table.

"For your information" she said as he drank "there is a reason why Sarada was able to use genjutsu on me, even if she only managed to do it by taking me by surprise, and I easily broke through it, before you even think of questioning my abilities again"

"Which is..."

"Sarada has awakened the third tomoe" she stated.

"You're absolutely sure about this" he demanded as he put down the mug and the newspaper.

"Yes. I just saw it" she confirmed. Sasuke sat back and looked straight ahead, which told Sakura he was probably overthinking things "this doesn't necessarily mean anything bad has happened to her" she reaffirmed.

"I hope so..."

"Sasuke" she said as she sat on his lap and looked him straight in the eye "Sarada's sharingan develops with love, not hate"

"I know what you mean Sakura" he said "but I can't help it. She has been very distant recently. And now, you tell me this... what if she found out about certain things?"

"Don't do this to yourself" she said as she stroked his hair "Sarada is fine, I know it. Even if she did find out. She'd tell us, she'd understand us. She is the sweetest person I know"

"You're probably right" Sakura put her finger on his lips.

"I am" she said as she kissed him passionately "now... If I'm not mistaken, there was something we were going to do before I left..."

"I thought you said no" he said as she got up and grabbed Sasuke's hand

"I said not then. Now is a good time though" she winked as she took them to the bedroom.

"Maybe I should use _that_ genjutsu?" he teased. She slapped him.

"Do not test me, Sasuke Uchiha" this only turned Sasuke on.

"Oh I _will_ " he answered, Sakura jumped on top of him and they kissed passionately again, closing the bedroom door behind them.

 _And that's chapter 1 folks! Feedback is highly appreciated!_

 _See you in the next chapter!_


	2. Sarada Uchiha

_I'm already back! First 5 chapters are pretty much already written, so for now, updates are going to come pretty fast._

 _This chapter is focused on Sarada, her thoughts, to be more precise. Consider this one an introduction to her character arc, if you will. Also, we get a glimpse of what Sasuke's goal of restoring his clan is about. But well, the actual chapter will do this better, so let's get to it._

 _Enjoy chapter 2!_

 **Dumpling Restaurant**

Sarada sat in a table alone, eating some dumplings, she decided she would treat herself, after all, it had been a pretty rough day. It was her time of the month for starters. She woke up in a very bad mood, then, she had the wonderful idea of trying to get out of doing the dishes by using genjutsu on her mother, a decision she soon regretted, as she retaliated by showing up in the middle of her training and kicking her and her teammates' asses. This caused Konohamaru to put them through some very harsh training afterwards. Lunch with the team afterwards proved to be a pain as well, as she wasn't in any shape to enjoy any meal whatsoever after working out like that. Later in the afternoon she hung out with her friend Chocho, which turned out be enduring her complaints about some idiot she had a crush on. She couldn't go back home yet. It was one of the few days when both her parents had the day off, she really didn't want to be home while they were _doing stuff._ Also, she wouldn't lie if she said she was making as much time as possible after her mother told her she would still receive some kind of punishment. She was enjoying herself at the moment though, she really needed some time alone, and the dumplings did the trick, she felt like she hadn't eaten anything all day. However, the comfortable silence and peace she enjoyed was cut short.

"Fancy seeing you here" a woman said. Anko Mitarashi. One of her teachers from the academy and a woman she would see often as both shared a love for dumplings. Sarada saw a picture of Anko when she was young, so she also served as a reminder to control her guilty pleasure and not end up like her.

"Hello, Anko-sensei" Sarada said, it came off with an annoyed voice, she couldn't help it.

"You are more Uchiha than usual today" Anko joked as she sat next to her. She didn't even have to order, much like with Sarada, the place served her instantly, they were their two top customers, after all. This did lighten up Sarada a bit, she had lived long enough with her father to know that he could be too much of an asshole, a treat that apparently ran in the family and she herself inherited sometimes, she decided to deal with it with a sense of humor.

"Rough day" she answered.

"Don't get me wrong, I love that the Uchiha genes are strong with you. That's why we're dumpling sisters" she smiled. More Uchiha stereotypes. Sarada had learned that she should just take them and not question them. Bringing up questions about the Uchiha clan made things uncomfortable for everyone. Her love of dumplings was something she got her from uncle, her father told her so once, but of course, she couldn't know more than that. The Uchiha clan was even more taboo with Sasuke, especially her uncle. All she knew about her uncle were three things, his name was Itachi, he loved dumplings, and he's dead. That was it. Sarada wasn't dumb. Her parents, her teachers and the Hidden Leaf Village were hiding things from her. She figured something terrible had happened, the kind of terrible that scars people, much like the last war. She knew better than asking her elders about these things, but it annoyed her, more than she would like. Her father promised her to tell her everything once she was 'old enough to understand'. Sarada felt like she was old enough already. She was a chunin, the best of her generation and experienced hard things as a ninja. She was frustrated, she wanted everyone to stop treating her like an innocent girl and acknowledge her accomplishments. Her journey to become Hokage looked more up-hill everyday. She then noticed that she was letting her dark emotions consume her as Anko rambled on about something, but she wasn't paying any attention. She noticed she had already finished her dumplings and it was late enough for her to finally go home.

"Sorry Anko-sensei, but I have to leave" she interrupted as Anko was still saying something about Sarada's classmates.

"Oh, sure Sarada. Don't worry. Will I see you here again soon?" Anko asked.

"Sure" Sarada nodded as she left.

Sarada tried to clear her mind as she walked back to her house. She was fully aware that she shouldn't dwell too much on these things. Sarada hated being angry. She knew her father loved her, and the reason he wouldn't tell her, was to protect her. She just wished her dad would stop spoiling her as her princess, and saw her as the strong young woman she was. She also couldn't blame him, her father missed her childhood because he was protecting the world from those Otsutsuki freaks, and once she saw what they did to the Hidden Leaf Village, she understood better than ever why her father had to do what he did. Sarada knew her father was trying his best to make up for that those lost years, and she really did appreciate it. These three last years living with him, learning everything she could from him... she considered them a gift. Her thoughts changed to her mother, but she couldn't feel that love for her at the moment. She was rather afraid of what her mother would do to her after what she did in the morning. She finally arrived, took a deep breath and opened the door.

"I'm home" she announced, hoping her parents were _done._ But there was no answer. "Mom? Dad?" she asked as she looked for them. She entered the kitchen. Saying it was a mess was an understatement. It looked like someone tried to rob the place. Sarada sighed, she knew exactly what this was about. She stretched her arms in a fashion similar to her mother's before getting to work. It could be much worse, she figured.

It had been about fifteen minutes and she still had a long way to go, she let out a frustrated sigh. But then, she saw something between a dirty plate she was about to wash. A note.

 _I'm sorry sweetie but this is what you would call an eye for an eye._

 _You have been washing dirty things that simply don't exist. Your mother has her tricks too you know! You have been under a genjutsu ever since you entered the house! Now you feel as stupid as I did. This is just a taste, you don't want to get into a genjutsu war with me!_

 _Love,_

 _Mom._

 _P.S. Your father and I went out for dinner, don't wait up._

Sarada looked back up and everything was gone. Just the note she just read remained. All she could think about was _how._ Maybe she was still a foolish little girl, after all.

* * *

 **Tamaki's restaurant**

Sasuke and Sakura were having dinner at their favorite place, Tamaki's restaurant. They (Sasuke) loved the place, a quiet place, on the outskirts of the village. The fact that Tamaki, a childhood friend of Sasuke, owned the place also helped. Tamaki was the granddaughter of granny cat, she was close to the Uchiha clan and was one of the few persons Sasuke trusted fully. He was glad she moved to the Hidden Leaf and got along well with his wife and daughter. How she ended up marrying that dumbass Kiba, a dog person, when she lived with and for cats, was something he could never really understand. Being Captain of the Hidden Leaf Police Force and working with Kiba, was sometimes a nightmare. But he tolerated him, for Tamaki's sake.

"Here you go" Tamaki said as she served them the usual when they could actually come.

"Thanks Tamaki" Sakura smiled. Tamaki smiled back and went to another table.

"So you're sure that _thing_ you used to _poison_ our daughter is safe" Sasuke said as he began to eat his meal. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It's no different than a genjutsu, Sasuke. I'm sure she'll stop hallucinating as soon as she reads the note I left for her"

"If you say so. I just don't want to be _hallucinating_ as well when I get back home"

"Oh my, the great Sasuke Uchiha, best in the world at visual genjutsu, scared of a flower" Sakura teased. Sasuke grunted as he put too much force into his plate, something that happened too often with him ever since he got a new arm. The table bent to his left, but thankfully, no drinks were spilled or food fell off the plates.

"I _hate_ this" he complained.

"It's been two years, you really need to work on that" Sakura observed.

"I might just cut it off and be done with it, I lived just fine with only one arm"

"You _need_ your left hand. You are Captain of the police force, people need to understand what you write" Sakura sighed.

"I'm ambidextrous" he retorted.

"Your handwriting says otherwise" Sakura snapped back. Sasuke spent about 20 years without his left arm, but he could never quite write just as well as he used to with his right hand. At this point in his life, he spent more time with one arm than two, and his left hand was still the dominant one. Biology was a weird thing. Getting his left arm back was a hard decision. He decided he didn't want an arm when he lost it, he figured he deserved it, a mark he had to live with for all the sins he comitted. The previous Raikage lost his left arm against Sasuke, it was fate that he had to live like that. Fastforward to two years ago, when he took over the position of Police Captain, just like his father. The image of such an important person without an arm was just weird for other people, he found it extremely difficult to operate these new inventions such as phones or computers, add the lack of one hand unlike others, and the constant nagging of his wife and daughter convinced him he should finally give in to getting his left arm back. He was still getting used to it, though.

"Okay, let's just drop it" Sasuke said. He was more than sick of having this discussion with his wife. Sakura smiled as she took a sip from her glass of wine.

"Should you be drinking?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not pregnant yet. Plus, I can assure you it will take much more than a glass of wine for alcohol to damage my body"

"I recall Tsunade got drunk all the time"

"It takes about 10 cups of sake for her to get a minor buzz" Sakura explained "I still find it hard to believe that we're really doing this" she said.

"You agreed, we are going to rebuild my" Sakura glared " _our_ clan".

"Don't get me wrong, I am super excited about this" Sakura clarified "but I can't get over the fact that Sarada is going to have a sibling at 16, that's going to be weird for her"

"We've had our... Delays. But she will understand, I'm sure she will love the idea of having a sibling" Sasuke said.

"So... are you still obsessed about it being a boy?"

"Of course I'm _obsessed_ with having a male. Only a male can carry the Uchiha name"

"Why?"

"That's how it goes. If Sarada marries, as much as I loathe the idea, Loser Jr., she will be an Uzumaki, not an Uchiha"

"Sounds like bullshit to me. I mean the Uchiha are extremely rare nowadays, you would think that blood would take preference over our stupid laws"

"The Uzumaki are also rare"

"Okay, then what if she marries... say... Ino's kid, what about then? I mean he is a Yamanaka by his mother's side"

"That's because that freak Sai doesn't belong to a clan. Anyway, look, this is not about these exceptions. We need a male. A male has to be the head of the clan. A male passes the genes better to the descendants"

"One, you are sounding a bit too sexist for my liking. Two, if you want to start discussing genetics with a doctor, be my guest, I'm more than happy to school you" before Sakura and Sasuke's argument could get more heated, an anbu black ops appeared next to them.

"Captain Uchiha" the masked man said.

"Get lost. It's my day off"

"Sasuke!" Sakura scolded.

"Lord Hokage made me aware that I'm interrupting and expresses his sincerest apologies. But this is an emergency, he needs you to come to his office" Sasuke sighed.

"I'll be there" Sasuke told the anbu before he disappeared.

"Go. Before you say something else that pisses me off" Sakura told him.

"Your wish is my command, my beloved wife" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"I'll try not to get hurt without my husband there to protect me" she mocked back. And with that, Sasuke disappeared as well.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sarada was sitting on the couch of the living room, watching TV. She heard the door open, that was much earlier than what she was expecting. She saw only her mother, who sat next to her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"There was an emergency and your dad had to go to Naruto's office" her mother replied "but oh well, we spent almost the entire day together, so I guess I can't complain" the TV caught her attention, it was news about incidents ocurring in the Land Of Water "something tells me this has something to do with it"

"It's been all they have been talking about for hours. Apparently no shinobi can stop what's going on there" Sarada explained.

"Is that so?" Sakura questioned.

"I doubt this is why Lord 7th summoned Dad though, his territory is the Hidden Leaf, he has no jurisdiction about what's happening in the Land of Water"

"Good point. Anyway, it's almost midnight Sarada, you should really go to bed" Sakura said as she turned the TV off.

"I'm just surprised you'd tell me instead of using a somniferous plant on me" Sarada complained.

"Oh, so you figured it out. That's my girl" Sakura beamed "I'm serious though, go to bed" she insisted.

"Okay okay, good night mom" she said as she went to her room.

"Night sweetie!"

Sarada changed into her pyjamas and tucked herself into her bed, before she could turn off the lights, there was knock on her door.

"Can I come in?" it was her father.

"Yes" she answered.

"Hey" he said as he entered the room.

"Mom told me you met with Lord Hokage, what was that about?" she asked.

"That's classified" he answered. Sarada rolled her eyes, but then again, she shouldn't expect another answer.

"What do you want?" she asked as her father tried to make himself comfortable in her room, sitting on the chair in front of her desk, sitting backwards on the chair so he could face her.

"Are you aware of your recent... developments?" he asked, Sarada's eyes widened.

"You can't be seriously giving me _the talk_ right now" Sasuke sighed and rubbed his temple.

"No, that's not what I meant" Sasuke was never good with words "I mean, your eyes. Have you felt something different about them?"

"Hm... I guess my sharingan is getting a bit better, why do you ask?" Sasuke simply handed her the mirror on top of her desk.

"Wow..." Sarada exclaimed as she activated her sharingan and looked. Three tomoes.

"Do you remember what I told you when you awakened the second?"

"Yes. Sharingan evolves with deep emotion"

"And? Did something happen to you?"

"Not that I can think of..." she answered "how did you awaken the tird tomoe dad?"

"I guess" Sasuke took his time and chose his words carefully "you could say that I awakened it when I realized that me and that loser you call Lord Hokage were like brothers" he told her a half truth, like he always did. Telling her it was actually because he decided he had to kill him was not very appropriate "so,can you think of something along those lines?"

"I think so. In one of my latest missions my teammates were in danger and I had to protect them at any cost" she told him.

"Hn. That makes sense" he said as he got up.

"So dad... this means unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan is the next step right?" Sasuke froze deep in his tracks.

"You don't want to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan" he said, in a tone that almost scared Sarada.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you soon. Sooner than you might think" he said as he closed the door behind him.

Sarada stared at the door. What her father said would worry her, but what really bothered her was that she lied to him, and so easily, too. She knew exactly why she had awakened her third tomoe. This only confirmed something she already knew. In one of her last missions, she lost Boruto and thought he was dead. Once she found herself in that situation, her true feelings, that she wanted to surpress, came out. Sarada loved Boruto. And she didn't like that. She lied to her father, she lied to herself. Her feelings for Boruto were something that no one would ever know. She didn't want to have them.

 _To be continued..._


	3. A New Threat

_Told you the updates were coming fast._

 _We are giving important roles to unexpected characters and getting out of the Hidden Leaf. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I'm enjoying writing this._

 _Here comes chapter 3._

 **Uchiha Clan House**

 _Ding, dong_

The sound of the doorbell woke Sarada up. She figured her mother would get it, so she did nothing.

 _Ding, dong_

It sounded again after about 20 seconds. _Just answer the damn door, mom_ she told herself as she put her pillow over her head. Sarada was not a morning person, and she slept a lot ever since she became a teenager.

 _Ding, dong_

Sarada remembered her parents had to work early today and she would be alone all morning, so she had to answer it herself. She groaned and forced herself out of bed. She looked at the clock on her nightsand: 10:00 a.m. She was hoping she could sleep until noon today. Great, another day, another bad start.

 _Ding, dong_

Another ring. She sped up her dressing. Whoever this person was, she was going to punch him in the face, if he kept this up.

 _Ding, dong_

This _bastard_ managed to get another ring just before Sarada opened the door. If it was Boruto, Chocho or another of her friends she was seriosuly going to hurt them, her violent thoughts went away as she saw who it actually was. It was her sensei.

"Konohamaru-sensei, I thought we were taking a break today" she greeted him.

"I'm sorry Sarada, but no breaks today. You have been summoned by Lord 7th. You have a mission" he explained.

"You?" she asked.

"Yes, only you. Me and the rest of Team 7 won't be with you this time" he told her.

"Why? What kind of mission is this?"

"Go to the Hokage's office and he'll explain it to you himself" he said before waving and leaving.

Sarada went back to put her shinobi gear on and eat something before leaving as fast she could.

* * *

 **Hokage's office**

Sarada knocked and opened the door. First thing she saw was Hanabi Hyuga and Rock Lee standing, then she saw Shikamaru Nara standing next to the Hokage's desk, the Hokage himself, Naruto Uzumaki, sitting down and her own father sitting in the corner of the office. Everyone stared at her, she felt like her sensei pulled a sick prank on her for a moment.

"Konohamaru sensei said you summoned me here?" she said nervously.

"Yes Sarada, come on in" Naruto told her as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"Great, now that you're all here, we can begin the briefing" Shikamaru declared.

"Sarada is our third team member?" Hanabi asked.

"Yes" Naruto answered.

"Isn't she a bit too young for this?" she asked.

"I can assure you Sarada is more than capable for this mission, you will need her" Sasuke answered. This took Sarada by surprise. She was nervous as she was pretty much a kid between Hidden Leaf legends, the last thing she expected, was her father vouching for her.

"The more youthful our team is, the better" Rock Lee exclaimed. Everyone chose to ignore his antics.

"What mission is this? Why did you choose me?" Sarada asked.

"We are sending you three to investigate the recent incidents in the Land of Water" Naruto answered her.

"What was all over the news yesterday? That sounded dangerous" Sarada said.

"More importantly, why are we dealing with this and not the Hidden Mist?" Hanabi added.

"They have. But they can't stop them... We have intel that they are dealing with a dangerous enemy they can't handle" Shikamaru explained.

"Hidden Mist shinobi have reported being attacked by an individual with a very powerful dojutsu, visual genjutsu, to be precise" Naruto continued.

"The Sharingan" Sasuke finished for him.

"What? How?" Hanabi asked.

"A Shin Uchiha clone" Sarada said aloud.

"Yes. That's what we think" Naruto agreed.

"Being the sharingan, this makes the mission Hidden Leaf business" Shikamaru explained.

"Why don't you go, dad?" Sarada suggested. He was the best option.

"He can't, if we send Sasuke to an area where people are dealing with the sharingan, that will only escalate things, and we want this to remain as discreet as possible. Not to mention that he's captain of the police force and he can't just leave the village for a couple of days, ya'know" Naruto interjected.

"That's why we are sending you Sarada, you dealt with Shin Uchiha clones three years ago, now you're much more capable and stronger, I'm sure you can pull this off" Sasuke told her. So this what Sasuke and Lord 7th discussed the night before, Sarada deduced.

"We are sending our own Sharingan, the Byakugan and Rock Lee, who was taught how to fight the sharingan with taijutsu by Might Guy" Shikamaru told them "we are confident that this three man squad is guaranteed to success"

"I'd say overqualified" Hanabi commented.

"Don't underestimate the mission, we have been told that this sharingan weilder counts with other people helping him. About 5 _associates_ , all rogue ninja" Naruto told his sister in law.

"We can handle that" Rock Lee exclaimed.

"Good. Hanabi, you are team captain" Shikamaru declared. Hanabi nodded.

"Sarada, you are familiar with Shin Uchiha clones and posess the sharingan yourself, you are key for this mission, and we trust you can handle this. I know this is your first S rank mission without team 7, but we are confident you have what it takes" Naruto reassured her. Sarada nodded. This is the mission she had been waiting for. She would not disappoint, she was offered the chance to prove herself and she would pass with flying colors.

"You must take this sharingan user into custody and bring him here. If you have no other option than terminating him, take the eyes. Destroy them, if necessary" Sasuke instructed.

"As a Hyuga, I know what you mean" Hanabi told him. Sasuke nodded.

"Then it's settled. You are scheduled to leave in an hour" Shikamaru concluded.

"Yes sir" the newly formed team answered.

"Dismissed" Naruto announced before they left his office.

 **Outside of the Hokage Mansion**

Sarada was on her way out, planning what to do and take before she left. She felt someone behind her.

"Sarada"

"Dad" she said as she turned around to see her father.

"Here" he said as he handed her a bag "your mother got everything ready for you this morning"

"Why didn't you tell me about this last night?"

"It wasn't confirmed yet" he shrugged.

"Dad... I can't say I'm not nervous" she admitted.

"I would be worried if you weren't. I know this is a big mission, and you aren't working with your regular teammates. But trust me, Hanabi Hyuga and Rock Lee are the best teammates you could ask for. It wouldn't be a bad idea to observe and study their taijutsu, it's the best in the Hidden Leaf. They will ask you to cover them from a long range. I have taught you plenty of jutsu that can do that"

"What about the Shin clone? How do I deal with him?"

"Last time you took down a dozen with a single move" he smirked.

"Okay dad, thanks" Sarada smiled.

"Don't mention it. Now, I have to get back to work. Go show that _fake_ what a _real_ Uchiha can do" he said as he poked her forehead.

Sarada watched as her father left. She was very grateful for what he just did. She was no longer afraid, but confident and excited. Ready to face this new challenge.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Gate**

Sarada went through security and exited the village, she showed up ten minutes early, she wanted to make a good first impression on her teammates. To her surprise, Rock Lee was already there. He was doing _push ups_ , lifting his entire body with his index finger, this caused Sarada to sweat drop. Rock Lee saw her, and got into a _normal_ stance after a backflip.

"Sarada! Great to see you show up early! That's the kind of spirit I admire!" he yelled.

"Um... thanks?" Rock Lee answered by giving her a thumbs up "how long have you been here?"

"Half an hour! It's been a long time since I went out on a mission, I couldn't contain my excitement!" Sarada couldn't get over how _loud_ Rock Lee was. She thought his son was quite the misfit, well, as of right now, she'd prefer being around Metal over his father without any doubt in her mind. "You have grown a lot since I last saw you Sarada! It melts my heart to see you in the springtime of your youth!"

"So..." Sarada said before Lee yelled something else that made her _uncomfortable_ "Lord 7th said you can fight the Sharingan with only taijutsu?"

"That is correct" he bragged.

"How?"

"The secret is simple Sarada! You guess their moves by looking at their feet!"

"That hardly seems possible, you can't really guess moves just by looking at someone's feet" Sarada questioned. Rock Lee grinned.

"I shall show you, if you don't believe me" he suggested.

"What?"

"Let's have a friendly spar before leaving! Right here, right now!" he declared.

"Lee! Sarada hasn't even started the mission with us and you're already scaring her away?" Hanabi interrupted them. Was Sarada glad she showed up before schedule as well.

"Scaring her? A spar is the perfect way to bring two shinobi together!" Rock Lee complained.

"There is such a thing as being _too_ intense Lee! Let's use that energy of yours and be going on our way, instead" Hanabi responded.

"Yes miss!" Rock Lee saluted before hopping to a tree. Hanabi sighed, looked at Sarada and indicated her to follow him, and so, this special team started their first mission together.

Hanabi and Sarada jumped from tree to tree, with Lee being a significant distance ahead of them. Sarada unconsciously sped up to catch up to him.

"Slow down Sarada" Hanabi ordered "let Lee just... _be_ Lee, he'll eventually slow down. We want him to follow our pace, not the other way around. If we follow him at his speed we'll be exhausted in no time"

"Oh, okay" Sarada slowed down.

"He's... _difficult_ to work with, but you'll get used to it" she explained. Sarada nodded. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier" she randomly said.

"For what?"

"For saying you were too young, it might have offended you"

"It didn't"

"I'm apologizing anyway. I don't know. I guess I still see you as little kids. My team got dissolved ever since Sumire and Namida left, and I haven't really seen your generation grow as I was supposed to. But I know all of you have become strong and great shinobi. Wasabi keeps proving that to me time after time"

"Oh yeah... I hear Sumire is into science now" Sarada pointed out.

"Yes, she's travelling with Katasuke, helping him with his scientific ninja tools. The world is changing, people can contribute to the shinobi world without actually being a shinobi now. It's crazy to think about it"

"I read that they are developing vehicles that we can operate to travel. Before you know it, travelling for missions like this will be a thing of the past" Sarada added.

"That is nonsense!" Rock Lee yelled from far ahead "This is the best part about the mission! Running at full speed! Bonding with your team! It's the most beautiful thing and it shall never be taken away from us!"

"And how are you exactly bonding with us when you are so far away from us?" Hanabi yelled back.

"Because you're slowpokes! Come on! Push yourselves harder!" Hanabi shook her head to Sarada. Sarada smirked.

"You know Sarada, I remember that back in the day when you graduated as genin, I really wanted you in my team. I can't help but thinking what would have happened if you ended up in the girls team, it would have been great" Hanabi confessed "But oh well, I guess it was far too tempting to put you in the same team as my nephew and it made a lot more sense"

"Sometimes I think the same thing. I'm sorry Hanabi, but your nephew gives me serious headaches too often. He's reckless and arrogant, a difficult teammate to have" Hanabi laughed.

"That sounds about right... But he has his complaints about you too, you know"

"I'm sure he does, but someone has to keep the team afloat" Sarada retorted.

"That is exactly along the lines which he tells me you would say" Hanabi laughed again.

"You sound like you are spending a lot of time with Boruto, more than he tells me you do, anyway"

"Oh yes, I'm training him now"

"Seriously? He didn't mention it" Sarada was surprised.

"I can't blame him, it's a secret, that he's hiding from his father, at least"

"Does it have something to do with his Byakugan?"

"It's not exactly a Byakugan... but very similar indeed, so I'm training him to use it in battle"

"And how is that going?"

"Well... he's a fast learner and it's very fun to train him. But I'm making him _unlearn_ a lot of things. He intends to use his visual prowess like a Sharingan when he doesn't have it, I blame the time he spent training with your father for that"

"Boruto looks up to my father too much, on that I agree"

"And you think that's a bad thing?"

"Can you honestly picture Boruto in the police force?" Sarada asked.

"Good point" Hanabi replied, amused.

"So you said it's not exactly a Byakugan?"

"No... I guess it's some kind of mutation caused by combining Uzumaki and Hyuga genes. Crazy things happen when you mix certain traits with clans with visual prowess it seems..."

"Like my father's Rinnegan..." Sarada thought aloud.

"Yes..." Hanabi answered. Sarada noticed she just entered the now infamous uncomfortable zone, so she decided to leave it at that, and not make any more questions about it.

"So how long does it take to get there?" she changed the subject.

"We should get there tomorrow morning" Hanabi answered.

"Tonight! If you sped up!" Rock Lee yelled from afar.

"Tomorrow morning, and we will take a break to sleep" Hanabi reaffirmed. They could hear Rock Lee's grunts of frustration.

* * *

 _To be continued..._

 _I really like Hanabi. Choosing her for this mission was a no-brainer. Writing her conversation with Sarada was a blast._

 _Stay tuned for more!_


	4. Shark Village

**Land of Fire Coast**

"Rise and shine team! Time to keep going!" Rock Lee yelled.

Sarada yawned as she exited the tent. The sun wasn't even up yet. Sarada was still surprised by how her body found energy she didn't know she had during missions. In an ordinary day she wouldn't be able to wake up this early and she would kill anyone who dared to interrupt her sleep. At the moment though, she was feeling great and ready to continue the mission.

"Alright" Hanabi said as she also exited the tent and stretched "let me explain what we're going to do from this point onwards" she said as she layed out a map "this is the island we have to go to, the one in the north west"

"We shall swim there then!" that could only be Lee.

"No" Hanabi sighed "we are heading to the harbor and taking the boat network that connects the Lands of Fire, Water and Lightning, they make a stop there"

"Isn't that a public service though?" Sarada asked.

"Correct. Here's the thing, we are going to disguise ourselves as regular civilians from now on. No one can know we are Hidden Leaf shinobi, remember what Shikamaru said, we have to stay under the radar" Hanabi explained.

"And what exactly do you mean with _disguise_?" Sarada asked again.

"This" Hanabi opened a scroll and after a _poof_ , clothes appeared "put these on" she said as she handed Lee and Sarada a pair of black kimonos "put them over your shinobi gear, we want to remain on guard at all times"

"These are so uncomfortable, they limit my movement" Lee complained. Sarada held back a laugh when seeing him, he looked ridiculous.

"Oh and Sarada" Hanabi handed antoher thing to Sarada "put that on, too" it was now Sarada's turn to be embarrassed. It was a blonde wig.

"You're joking" Sarada begged.

"Of course not, I'm wearing one too" Hanabi said as she put another blonde wig on herself. Sarada sighed and followed, she really wouldn't want to see herself right now.

"Lee" Hanabi called "take _yours_ off" she told him.

"Absolutely not!" Sarada saw Lee _horrified_ , a sight she would have never expected.

"I'm not kidding around Lee. You only have yourself and Might Guy to thank for making that bowl cut famous around the world, so it has to come off. That's an order" Hanabi insisted.

Rock Lee hessitantly grabbed his trademark hair and it easily came off. Rock Lee was bald, a perfectly clean shave. Sarada couldn't help it, she gasped. She did not know about this.

"Alright, to the harbour" Hanabi ordered. One thing was clear, the three were completely unrecognizable.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Hospital**

"Here" a plastic cup of coffe was put in Sakura's desk, bringing her back to the real world.

"Oh, thank you very much, Daisuke" Sakura thanked her assistant.

"You are pushing yourself too hard, again. Keep this up and I'll get Shizune to send you back home" he playfully threatened.

"No, not now, I'm making serious progress with the first hokage cells!" Sakura childly complained.

"That won't work on-" Daisuke's expression changed to complete fear when he looked at the window "I... I will leave you now, Sakura" he said as he practically ran away. Sakura smirked.

"If I ever see that clown _flirting_ with you again I will hurt him, badly" her husband's voice came from behind her.

"Are you ever going to try the front door, honey?" she asked him as she turned her swivel chair around.

"As soon as you let that idiot know you're married and faithful" Sasuke replied.

"That's no fun. Have I ever told you how attractive I find you when you get _possesive_?" she told him as she moved closer to him.

"Yes, and I've told you to knock it off before I run a chidori through some fool one day"

"That's not the way to stop me from doing it" she said as she put her arms around him and kissed him. Sasuke threatening other men because of Sakura turned her on, a lot "don't actually do that though, you know that I only have eyes for you"

"They look like shit" Sasuke pointed out as she stopped kissing him.

"Way to kill the mood, honey" Sakura sighed.

"I'm serious. You pulled another all-nighter, didn't you" he stated, more than asked.

"And so what if I did?"

"It's the same thing as always, you worry about everyone's well-being, but not your own" he lectured "good thing you have a husband and a daughter to do that for you" he said as he put a box he brought on her table.

"Thank you, my husband" she mocked as she opened the box and started eating the breakfast he brought for her.

Sasuke observed his wife eat. There was really something off about her. Not just her appearance, but how her voice sounded and the way she acted. Sasuke knew his wife all too well, when she became a hardcore workaholic like today, it was because something was troubling her. This was classic Sakura, burrying herself in her work to not give into whatever negative thoughts she could potentially obsess over.

"You're worried about Sarada" he deduced.

"No" she said as she ate like a pig, Naruto-style. She must have skipped her meals the day before.

"You're lying" Sakura sighed.

"I just have this feeling. I don't fear for Sarada's life or anything of that magnitude, but something tells me something... big is going to happen to her. To us. I can't explain it. Call it maternal instinct"

"That raises more questions than answers" Sasuke pointed out.

"I don't even know what these feelings are myself" she admitted.

"You're probably worried because this is her first mission without team 7, and a pretty big one. Still, she's with 2 of the greatest shinobi we have and she's dealing with a Shin Uchiha clone, you know first hand one of them is no big deal"

"I know, I know" she said, she did feel a bit better, now that she no longer had an empty stomach.

"You need some rest. I want you home tonight. I'll come and drag you there personally, if necessary" Sasuke commanded.

"I'm looking forward to it" she winked.

"Alright" Sasuke smirked "now if you excuse me, I have to go give some more orders to other people" he said before he vanished. The arrogance of that husband of hers, she cursed herself for finding it so attractive.

As soon as Sasuke was gone, the comfort he made her feel was gone as well. Sakura looked out the window, to the sky, thinking about Sarada. She just couldn't shake the feeling she had in her gut. Just like she told Sasuke, it wasn't a bad one. But it wasn't exactly a good one either. She didn't know what it was, and it was driving her mad. So, she did the only thing she could. Get back to work.

* * *

 **Shark Village, Land of Water**

The team had finally arrived to the island. The first thing that Sarada noticed, was how everyone had extremely sharp teeth, much like the Mizukage and her father's old... _friend_ , Suigetsu (Sarada still hated his guts for making her think she was actually Karin's daughter, she was so going to punch his shark face the next time she saw him). It was not a coincidence that this village had the name it had, she thought. Hanabi explained that this is where people with these teeth originated from, it was a place where people were trained in the arts of swordmanship, not the ways of ninja.

Upon arriving, they learned very quickly that shinobi were not particularly popular here, but the opposite. People hated shinobi here, Hidden Mist shinobi in particular, for meddling in their business. Trying to rule where they were not meant to. That would explain why shinobi were attacked here, but it didn't explain why shinobi would even set foot here to begin with. And that's what brought Sarada to her current position. The team split, trying to get as many intel as possible from the locals. They still kept their disguises, posed as tourists and tried to blend in with others.

Sarada walked around the village, it was raining, no one on the street. She then set her eyes on a building, it looked like a bar. She was underage, however, she thought she should try, maybe laws were not the same around here.

She opened the door and she was greeted with smoke. She saw people smoking from water pipes. She only hoped they weren't drugs, they didn't smell like it, anyway. She then set her eyes on a man blowing rings of smoke. She sighed. She was instantly reminded of Boruto, who showed her videos of people doing this, apparently, he thought it was cool. She thought it was stupid, and seeing a person doing this with her very own eyes only confirmed it. How could she be in love with such an idiot, she asked herself again. Even worse, why was she thinking about this in the middle of an important mission. That damn Boruto.

"Hey!" a voice brought her back from getting lost in her thoughts. It was an old man, apparently, the owner of the place. Looks like perhaps there are age restrictions here, too "do you think I'm stupid?" Sarada decided not to answer "you can't fool me with a stupid wig and some fucking glasses!" Sarada raised an eyebrow "you have caused plenty of trouble in this place! Get the hell out!" he yelled, Sarada was oficially confused "Get the fuck out of here! Now!" Sarada decided to obey and she made her way out.

As she closed the door, she couldn't help but ask herself what was that about. Where on earth would that old man know her from, she had never seen him. And why would he accuse her of causing trouble there when that was the first time she ever set foot on that place? The old man sounded intoxicated. Maybe they really were smoking drugs. That would explain what just happened. Sarada decided to not put too much thought on it, and she was glad she was out of there, as a matter of fact.

She observed it was raining heavily now, she would need an umbrella. She ran trying to cover her head stretching her kimono, it wasn't too long until she spotted a shop, so she ran and went inside. She dried her wet glasses with the kimono and put them back on. She took a good look of the place, a small and quiet one, then it hit her that this was not an item shop, but a restaurant. And fate was pretty funny, it was a dumpling restaurant. She looked outside, it was raining cats and dogs. Might as well just eat some dumplings while the rain calms down, this was fate, not her, she convinced herself. So she headed to the bar and sat there, an old woman was in charge of the place.

"What can I help you with?" she asked. An old woman with those teeth creeped her out a bit.

"Mmmm" she hummed as she looked at the menu "one of these" she said as she pointed at her choice.

"Coming right up" she smiled.

Sarada waited as the old woman got them ready. This was a pretty unrealistic situation, now that she thought about it. The old woman emerged with them and served Sarada. The old woman stared at Sarada for too long.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"No, not at all, young lady" the old woman replied "it's just that... these ones you ordered, no one really asks for them. It's a shame, they're pretty good. A man from the Hidden Leaf gave me the recipe, and there's something about you... your face, your eyes, and especially your gaze, you remind me a lot of him"

"Who was he?" Sarada asked, she was being polite while she ate.

"Itachi. Itachi Uchiha" Sarada's heart skipped a beat and she dropped the dumpling she was eating back into the plate "you know him?" the old woman asked.

"No..." she couldn't blow her cover "I've just heard about him" she lied.

"I see, he must be pretty famous, I don't know much about it, but from what I've heard the Uchiha clan is a pretty big deal" this woman... she could provide some answers Sarada was looking for.

"What was he like?" Sarada asked, trying to appear as non-chalant as possible.

"Oh he was a very kind man. But pretty mysterious" that sounded about right "still, he came here pretty often when he was here. He was a huge fan of dumplings it seems, it was all I ever talked about with him, he offered me this recipe the last day he came, it's pretty good, don't you think?" she asked. It really was, she guessed it was only natural she enjoyed the dumplings that her uncle did.

"Do you know what brought Itachi here? I can't imagine why he would come here, of all places" Sarada insisted.

"Well.." the old woman started "I told you he was kind, still... I don't think he was up to any good. He was a shinobi. We don't really trust shinobi around here. And he was inseparable of our own Kisame Hoshigaki... not the pride of our village by any means"

"What does that mean?"

"Dear... Kisame was not a good man. He was also a shinobi and a criminal, involved with an organization called Akatsuki. I can only guess Itachi was part of it too, since they wore the same robes" Akatsuki... she remembered that name. Shin Uchiha, the original, and Orochimaru mentioned it. And it was one of the many taboo subjects she ran into when talking to the adults. Now, she was presented with another name, Kisame Hoshigaki, and some answers about the Akatsuki. Was her uncle a bad person? This new information... she would have to process it, and investigate it, now that she had more clues. "Anyway, if you have questions about Itachi, perhaps you should look for a young man from the Uchiha clan who's here" the Shin clone.

"And where could I find him?"

"I couldn't really tell you. All I know is that he's here, keeping us safe from any threats"

"Safe from threats?"

"Yes. He and others are like our own police. They especially deal with Hidden Mist shinobi who try to conquer our village" the old lady explained.

"Then I guess he's too busy for me to bother him with my simple curiosity" Sarada joked.

"Yes. I guess you could say so" the woman smiled.

"Anyway, the food was great, and it was a nice chat too. Thanks for everything" Sarada said as she stood up.

"The pleasure was mine" she waved as Sarada left.

Sarada hurried back to the rendezvous point, she had learned some pretty valuable intel, and not only that, but information about Itachi as well. The latter, she would keep it to herself. She tried not to think too much about it, she should focus on the here and now, on the mission. She could see from the distance that Lee and Hanabi were already there.

"Sarada, good, you're back" Hanabi observed.

"I have learned some things about the Shin clone" Sarada informed.

"We have too" Lee answered. It was curious that his loudness disappeared with his wig.

"Add anything we are missing Sarada. This Uchiha individual and his companions are vigilantes. They act as the law in this village. Their primary target are other shinobi, they are feeding the lie to the villagers that shinobi are a threat to them. We don't know their exact motivations, but I guess we can always find out by interrogating them in person" Hanabi elaborated.

"Yeah, that's the same thing I was told" Sarada said.

"So, how do we find them?" Lee asked.

"It's simple, we flush them out" Hanabi answered.

"Flush them out?"

"We take our disguises off. Put our headbands on, they should appear in no time" Hanabi explained.

"Is that a good idea? With all the villagers around?" Sarada asked.

"Good point, that's why after we gear up and let our presence be known, when they show themselves, we take the fight out of the village to that forest over there. We let the Land Of Water deal with this village afterwards. Our mission is to stop these vigilantes, not change these villagers' views on shinobi" Hanabi said.

"Sounds like a plan" Lee agreed. Sarada nodded.

"Then it's all set. Let's remove our disguises" the three of them took their kimonos off, Sarada and Hanabi took off their wigs, while Lee put his back.

"The power of youth is flowing back through me!" he yelled. Hanabi and Sarada sweat dropped.

"Shinobi! Hidden Leaf Shinobi!" a villager exclaimed in no time.

Not even a minute passed before 6 hooded figures appeared. Hanabi signaled her team, and they retreated to the forest she pointed at before. The hooded men followed. Once they were in a large area and a considerable distance away from the village the three man squad stopped, and so did the other 6 men.

"Alright Sarada, leave the fighting up close to Lee and me, I want you to stay behind, support us with long range ninjutsu" Hanabi instructed Sarada. Just like her father told her she would. Sarada nodded.

"Time for some action" Lee declared as he put one hand behind his back and signaled the others to come at him with the other.

"Game's over freaks. I offer you to surrender right now. It would be wise to take it" Hanabi said as she adopted the classic Hyuga fighting stance.

The enemies reponded by taking out their swords.

"So be it, then" Hanabi sighed.

Lee and Hanabi charged full speed at the opponents. Sarada unconsciously activated her sharingan to be able to see them, they were moving incredibly fast. She saw Hanabi hit one of them 16 times, and just like that, one was taken down.

" _Leaf Hurricane!_ " Lee exclaimed. He kicked one of them with such force he was sent flying several feet away, another one attempted to cut Lee from behind, but Lee dodged without any problems and punched him, making him suffer the same fate as his first victim. Lee practically teleported behind another, swept him with a low kick and delivered a karate chop that knocked him out. But he wasn't done, as he performed a roundhouse kick on another before he could even lift his blade.

Sarada spotted the men that Lee sent flying away getting back up, before they could do so, Sarada started performing hand seals.

 _Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!_

Two electricity orbs were sent to them, which shocked them and paralyzed them, forcing them to stay down.

On the other side, a man charged at Hanabi with his sword, he swung his blade multiple times at a fast speed, but too slow for Hanabi, who was able to dodge them like it was nothing, she simply responded by raising her hand in front of him.

 _8 trigrams: Air Palm!_

The man was sent flying and collided against a tree, it was a direct hit and this man was going to stay down no matter what. Five down, one to go. This was too easy, Hanabi thought, she told her brother in law this was overkill.

She and Lee charged towards the last man standing, both striking incredibly fast blows. This one was able to dodge every single one of them, and both of them coming at the same time. The hooded figure jumped back.

"That is the one with the Sharingan" Hanabi noted.

Meanwhile, Sarada took a look at some of the men that were taken down and their hoods came off. She had to retract the word men, because they were kids. Not much older than Sarada herself. She also noticed their sharp teeth. They were no more than young men from this village, they were probably just swordsmen. She even felt sorry for them.

She shifted her focus to the last man standing, the Shin clone. He just proved the gap between him and his companions was big, for his sake, it'd better be much bigger than they could imagine, otherwise, this wouldn't last. She noticed he was staring at her, she looked, and she could see the glowing red eyes standing out from the darkness that was his face at the moment.

Then, he started unbottoning the cloak he was wearing, time stopped for Sarada, something felt weird. And finally, he removed his hood and threw the cloak away.

Sarada gasped, as did Hanabi. Lee couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was not a Shin Uchiha clone. His hair was black, his skin color was the same as Sarada's. This boy, who must be Sarada's age, was the spitting image of Sasuke Uchiha when he was Sarada's age, sans the hairstyle, which resembled more that of Sarada's. His eyes spun from a three tomoe Sharingan to a Mangekyo Sharingan, which was like Sasuke's, but black over red, instead of red over black. Sarada and the boy stared at each other in complete confusion, their mouths moved and said the same thing at the same time.

"Who are you?"

* * *

 _The plot thickens..._

 _ **Author's note:** Yes, Lee being bald is official. You are more than welcome to look it up, I found out recently and I simply couldn't resist using it here._

 _Expect chapter 5 soon!_


	5. The Mysterious Uchiha Youth

**Forest near Shark Village, Land Of Water**

"There will be plenty of time for talking once we take you into custody and we interrogate you in the Hidden Leaf" Hanabi told this Uchiha boy "make it easy for all of us and surrender, as you can see, you are overmatched"

"So you are Hidden Leaf shinobi that have come for me, I figured it was a matter of time" the boy answered "I'm afraid to tell you I won't surrender, what's going to happen, is that I'm going to dispose of these two and I'm going to get some answers from you" he said as he looked at Sarada.

"You're way in over your head kid" Hanabi said as she reactivated her byakugan.

"I am nothing like these kids you beat. You shouldn't underestimate me" the boy said as he rose his sword.

"I respect your spirit, but we will show no mercy if you resist" Lee got serious.

Blood started coming out of the boy's left eye. Hanabi and Lee froze before they could charge back at him.

 _Eight trigrams: Palm rotation!_

All Sarada could see was black flames colliding against a sphere of chakra. Black flames. Her father was the only person on this planet who could use them. Sarada was too confused at this point to move or talk, let alone fight. The sphere of chakra stopped, revealing Hanabi, who created it by spinning really fast. Rock Lee was gone. It appeared that Hanabi managed to counter the black flames, which were burning the grass in front of her. However, her sleeve caught on this fire, thankfully, she tore it off and dropped it in with the rest of the flames before they could reach her.

"That was too close... The Amaterasu. I was not expecting that at all, you almost got me there, kid" she admitted to him "you are even more dangerous than we expected. We must stop you at any cost" Hanabi walked away from the flames so she could see the boy, he was covering his bleeding eye, his visible eye had a shocked expression, he was not expecting anyone could defend themselves against that "feeling the backlash?" she taunted.

Rock Lee suddenly appeared in front of the boy, ready to kick him, before he could land it, he felt his leg was stopped by something that pushed him back, Rock Lee made a couple of backflips and stood next to Hanabi. Then, he saw what stopped him. An external ribcage. A blood red colored chakra started surrounding the boy. Before they knew it, a huge upper half of a skeleton was protecting this Uchiha youth.

"He can use the Susano'o, too!?" Rock Lee exclaimed. Sarada couldn't believe what she was seeing. Who on earth was this boy. Not only did he look like her father, he was using his supposedly exclusive techniques. She noticed the color of his Susano'o was red, and not purple like her father's. This only caused for her to be even more confused.

"He hasn't mastered it, yet" Hanabi observed as it stopped in its skeletal form and wouldn't go further than that "I can break it, I can see a weak point with my Byakugan" she said as she charged towards it.

"No, Hanabi, wait!" Lee called her as he saw a fiery sword appearing in the Susano'o's hand. Before Hanabi could react, it was too late, the Susano'o swung its sword towards her and landed a direct hit.

"Hanabi!" Both Lee and Sarada cried. Hanabi landed several feet away and didn't get back up, but coughed blood. Sarada rushed to her aid.

"I told you not to underestimate me" the boy said under the Susano'o's protection.

"Hanabi! Hold on!" Sarada said as she reached her. She gasped as she saw what happened to her. There was huge cut on her waist, but she wasn't bleeding, because the worst part was that it was burnt. The wound was terrible,Hanabi was going to die. Sarada took a deep breath and didn't let this situation get to her. She put her hands over her waist and a green glow became visible.

"What is she doing?" the Uchiha youth observed them. He suddenly felt an impact in front of him. It was Rock Lee, who had kicked his Susano'o. Before he could answer, Rock Lee disappeared. He looked around for him, only to be kicked again in the same spot. "You're fast" he said, before the same thing happened again. The Susano'o was tanking every hit, the Uchiha youth remained calm and tried to anticipate Rock Lee's appearance, who kicked him in a different spot. This went on for a while.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Hanabi's wound was starting to heal. Sarada let out a sigh of relief. It appears she mastered medical ninjutsu at the right time. Hanabi opened her eyes.

"Sarada... you saved me" she said as she rose to a sitting position.

"Yeah... I am my mother's daughter as well, you know" Sarada answered "I'm not powerful enough to heal you back to perfect health yet though... I'm sorry"

"It's good enough... I was too careless. Mastered or not, fighting a Susano'o up close is practically suicide, I should have known better. If not for you Sarada, my overconfidence would have gotten me killed. What was I thinking?" Hanabi scolded herself.

"She saved her?" the boy said as he saw the older girl stand back up. His curiosity for this apparently relative of his spiked. He suddenly felt an excruciating pain that brought him to his knees. But he maintained the Susano'o.

"Hanabi, you're okay. Thank goodness" Lee observed as he landed next to the girls.

"Yeah... I'm afraid I'm too injured to fight at my full capacity though" Hanabi gritted through her teeth.

"What are we going to do?" Sarada asked.

"I have a technique that might work on him" Rock Lee announced.

"You sure?" Sarada asked him. Lee nodded.

"Sharingan or not, it will work. But only once. I used it to beat your father long ago" he explained "however, I can't use it with the Susano'o. It has to go, first"

"It can be broken. A direct hit with enough concentrated chakra right in the sternum and it will crack open like an egg" Hanabi told them "I would do it myself, I was going to, before... you know..."

"I can do it" Sarada told them. A fiery look of determination on her sharingan eyes. Hanabi knew exactly what she meant, she could tell.

"Yes. That might work" Hanabi nodded "Lee, keep doing what you were doing, cause a distraction to leave an opening for Sarada's attack" she commanded.

"Alright" Lee exclaimed at he went back to attacking, disappearing, and repeating the process.

"Whatever plans you make, they're useless" the Uchiha boy said as he stood back up "your leader is injured and you will be next, freak" he threatened Lee after he disappeared again.

Hanabi observed Sarada performing handseals. _You can do it, Sarada_ , she thought to herself. Lee kicked the left arm of the Susano'o, the Uchiha boy grunted.

"You will make a mistake sooner or later, and I'll make sure to punish you for it" he muttered. Before he could look around to find a trace of Lee, a screeching noise caught his attention, he looked forward, only to be blinded by a blue flash of electricty.

 _Chidori!_

Sarada pierced through the Susano'o and it dissipated. However, the boy ducked to a side and tried to stab Sarada with his sword, Sarada jumped and the sword sliced through the air under her.

"You" the boy said as Sarada landed a feet in front of him. Before he could move, he was hit from below and sent flying upwards, the boy couldn't react, he was grabbed by Rock Lee in mid-air. Then, he started spinning. Gravity did its work and he started to descend, Rock Lee released him and he crashed in the ground, a cloud of smoke appeared after such a brutal impact. The cloud disappeared to reveal a crater, the boy was lying there, motionless. Sarada approached him to check his condition.

"He's unconscious" she declared.

"Victory!" Rock Lee exclaimed with a thumbs up. Hanabi smiled, she would let him have this one, it was close, way more complicated than she thought, but they managed to pull it off. Hanabi walked towards Sarada and the unconscious boy.

"That was great work Sarada, and to think I dared to question you at first" Hanabi told her. Sarada looked up and smiled.

"Thank you Hanabi, it was all thanks to you" she modestly replied.

"Save it, I almost fucked up, terribly, and you saved my ass" she said as she took out a scroll.

"What's that?" Sarada asked her.

"A reverse summoning jutsu. I'm sending you and this boy back to the Leaf. You will appear in the Hyuga district. Hurry and take him to the Police HQ, before he regains consciousness" she ordered.

"And what about you?"

"Lee and I will stay back here. We have these other kids to worry about. We will wait for the Hidden Mist to appear and report to them" she said.

"I will do it. It was an honor to work with you, Hanabi" Sarada said as Hanabi opened up the scroll on the ground.

"Likewise" Hanabi winked before biting her thumb and putting her hand on the scroll. There was a _poof_ and all Sarada could see was smoke.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Village**

As the smoke cleared, Sarada saw that she was indeed back home. She looked down and saw the boy, seeing him up close, unconscious, and so unthreatening was unreal, after what she just saw him do. She had so many questions. There was only one way to get her answers, she picked him up, loaded him onto her back and sprinted towards the Police Headquarters. She arrived there as fast she could. She entered the building.

"Sarada" she saw Kotaro, former captain of the police force, before he gladly stepped down and let her father take over. Kotaro admired and respected the Uchiha clan, he had no problems in doing so, he told her he knew it was only a matter of time before her father claimed his rightful position, like her grandfather before him.

"Kotaro, I bring with me the sharingan user we were sent to apprehend in the Land Of Water" she informed him.

"Nicely done Sarada! Men! Take this man to the interrogation room!" he ordered. A police officer exclaimed 'yes sir' before taking the boy from Sarada and taking him away with him.

"That boy... that wasn't a Shin Uchiha clone, he looked like.." Kotaro observed.

"My father" Sarada finished for him.

"You stay here Sarada. I will contact your father immediately" he said before disappearing.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sakura was cooking dinner. Shizune took over her and practically made her go back home. She disapproved at first but now, after taking a much needed nap and cooking dinner for her husband, she couldn't complain. This meant she would have to return for the night, but she had slept, so she was okay with that. As she grabbed a knife to cut some onions, she felt it. Her daughter's chakra. She let out a sigh of relief. Her baby was back, safe and sound. But then, she felt something else. Another chakra near her daughter's. A darkish, cold, chakra. Not that of a Shin Uchiha clone... but very similar to another chakra she knew very well. Her husband's. But her husband was right there, with her, she shifted her chakra sensory ability to feel her husband, and she did. What was the meaning of this. She felt the same feeling she had been feeling these days. This was what she was so worried about. She couldn't understand what was happening, the ring of their doorbell caught her attention.

"Captain Uchiha" Sasuke opened the door to see his right hand man.

"Report"

"Your daughter has returned with the sharingan suspect" Kotaro informed him "we must hurry back to HQ"

"Let's go" he said as he put on his uniform jacket, which he always had in the entrance.

"I'm coming with you" Sakura said as she emerged from the kitchen. Sasuke nodded. He felt the very same thing his wife felt. They left the house.

"Captain, the suspect is not a Shin Uchiha clone" Kotaro informed as they traveled through the rooftops "it's a young boy... and he looks just like you"

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Police Headquarters**

The mysterious Uchiha boy woke up. He remembered being knocked out by the leaf shinobi with a bowlcut. That was an unstoppable technique. He had lost, and wherever he was, he knew it was the Hidden Leaf. He couldn't see a thing. He tried to move. He was tied up, hands and legs, sitting on a chair. The boy sighed.

Kiba Inuzuka observed the boy in the interrogation room. He was on the other side of the one way mirror. He just couldn't get over it. He couldn't see his eyes since they had a seal, but this boy was definitely an Uchiha, alright. He looked just like Sasuke. Too much like him. The door to the room opened, speak of the devil. Sasuke dashed to the window, he had to see it for himself. Kiba was surprised to see Sakura enter a couple of seconds after him, and join him just as quickly.

"This is impossible..." Sasuke said. Sakura remained silent.

"Something to confess, _Captain_?" Kiba mocked him.

"I have no time for this, Inuzuka, one more wisecrack and I will have you and your mutts pick up shits for the rest of your career" Sasuke answered.

"I clearly struck a nerve there" Kiba did not like Sasuke very much, or trusted him, for that matter. If he saw this, there was only one thing Kiba would think of "so much time away from your wife and the village, this tells me you are restoring your clan alright" Sasuke turned around, saying this infuriated him was an understatement, he had his mangekyo activated.

"Question my loyalty to my wife again and you're fucking dead" he threatened. Kiba was truly scared of Sasuke at this moment. But then again, he should have expected this is what he would get. He really needed to watch his mouth, as Tamaki told him countless times.

"This is no time for these kinds of arguments!" Kotaro stood between them "Captain, I know this is hard for you, but you must remain calm and collected" he told him. Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Kotaro, get Inuzuka out of here" he ordered "I will question this boy myself"

"I'm going to make a paternity test" Sakura announced, Sasuke turned around to face her.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you will do no such things" a voice interrupted as someone entered the room, it was Sai "Sasuke, I am taking over this case, this is official black ops business now. Also Lord Hokage wants me to tell you that both of you are prohibited to intervene, your emotions will obviously get in the way"

"What?" Sasuke demanded, he felt his wife put her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her, her eyes told him that he should listen to him. Sasuke calmed down, Sai and Naruto were right, he should not be involved in this case "very well, but I wish to be informed of everything" he said.

"Of course" Sai answered "Kotaro, escort Mr. And Ms. Uchiha out of here. Kiba, get Shizune to perform a paternity test, and bring in my wife in to interrogate him" he ordered.

"I will take you to your daughter, she's waiting to be informed, too" Kotaro told them. Both of them nodded.

They were taken to a waiting room, where Sarada was sitting alone, she looked up and ran to her parents when she saw them.

"Mom! Dad!" she exclaimed before hugging them "who is this boy? Do you know anything?"

"I'm afraid we are as clueless about this as anyone else" Sakura told her daughter.

"Dad... this boy has the mangekyo. I saw him use the Amaterasu and the Susano'o" she told him. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other with very serious faces. Both of them knew what this meant. If this boy used the Amaterasu, it meant that he was directly related to Sasuke, or Itachi.

The three of them sat down. Silence ruled. None of them could say a word. This was an extremely uncomfortable situation. Sarada wanted to think the best of her father. She desperately wished, from the bottom of her heart, that this wasn't what she was thinking. She had already been in this situation. Something told her that what she was thinking was just not possible. Her father's heart belonged to her mother, she had seen it herself, Sasuke treated any other woman like a nuisance. But then again... it was the only thing that made sense. The only possible explanation. This boy had to be a bastard son of her father. Who was the mother? She could only guess. Sarada decided to stop herself from thinking like this. She didn't want to. She remembered what she thought earlier, she knew her father, her father would never do such a thing to her mother, never.

"Sarada" her mother's voice brought her back to reality "here" she handed her some money "buy us some drinks, we're going to be here for a while" Sarada knew that what this really meant was that her mother wanted to talk to her father alone. She nodded, took the money, and went to buy drinks.

"Sasuke..." she started.

"Sakura, I swear on my mother's grave, I would never-"

"I know. I believe you" she interrupted him "I just want you to know that I love you, and I truly believe that you would never have a son with someone else" she said. Sasuke took Sakura's hand.

"Thank you" he told her, looking her in the eye.

"What I think, is that Orochimaru has something to do with this. Maybe he created this boy from your DNA just like he created Mitsuki, because he has it" she explained. Sasuke remained silent for a while.

"That actually makes a lot of sense" he agreed.

"Whatever happens, we will get through this, together" she said as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Hn" he said as he pulled her in for a hug. They remained like that for minutes. Enough for Sarada to return and see them like that. The sight gave Sarada the comfort she needed, her parents loved each other, this only confirmed it. There was no way that what she was thinking was possible, there just wasn't. Her parents noticed her and separated from each other, this caused her to giggle, it impressed her that they were hugging in public to begin with, Sarada learned that her father hated making public displays of affection with his wife, much to the chagrin of her mother. She handed them the drinks she bought and they all drank them. There was more silence, but she felt it was more comfortable than before, where you could cut the tension with a knife. Hours passed, in which Sarada told her parents about the mission, how much she learned from Hanabi Hyuga and Rock Lee, and the Shark Village. She did keep the story of the dumpling shop for herself, though. Then, after about 3 hours waiting there, the door finally opened, it was Shizune. Sarada knew what this meant, she felt her stomach turn, she was incredibly nervous for what she was about to hear, but, she was ready.

"I'm here against the wishes of Lord Hokage" Shizune said "but I have to tell you what I found out, you deserve to know"

"Sarada..." her mother said, she would probably have to leave.

"No, she should stay, she has to hear this too" Shizune interrupted. Sakura and Sasuke hessitantly accepted.

"I've run the test multiple times, and there's no mistake... Sasuke, you are the father" this wasn't really surprising "and Sakura... you are the mother"

"What?" was all Sakura could say.

"Sarada... this boy is your twin brother"

 _Stay tuned for more twists in chapter 6 ;)_


	6. Sakumo Uchiha

**Hidden Leaf Police Headquarters**

Sarada could only stare at Shizune when she said that. She was shocked, but at her lack of it. It was difficult to explain, but a part of her just somehow knew it. She felt a connection to the boy as soon as she saw him. She tried to look at it from a rational perspective, she had a twin brother, a person just like her, and she didn't even know him, and just now, when she was 16 years old, did she find out this person existed. It was insane, but why didn't it feel like that? What it really felt like, is finding something that she was missing all her life. It felt wierd... but right.

"No" her mother's voice snapped her out of her trance "that's just not possible" she looked at her mother, she had never seen her like this, so confused, so helpless "I would remember giving birth to twins don't you think?" she had to sit down. Sakura was on the verge of tears. All Sakura could think about was that she had a son, a son that was taken away from her, a son she never got to raise, a son that was already on the road to becoming a criminal, because she was not there for him. As soon as Shizune said it, she just knew it was true, even if she was denying it now. Sakura's heart was broken. Her son, he had already awakened a mangekyo sharingan, that meant he had a difficult life. All because she was not there. She had failed as a mother. Whatever happened, how he was taken away from her, who did it, she couldn't think about that. She only blamed herself.

"We'll figure it all out Sakura" Shizune said as she sat next to her and tried to comfort her. Sarada then looked at her father. Sasuke just stood there, petrified. He was speechless. No one could tell, but Sasuke's mind was racing like crazy. He had a son. A son he didn't even knew existed. And that wasn't all, this son of his had lived 16 years already and awakened a mangekyo sharingan. It was like a twisted joke from the gods, Sasuke had just set his mind on having an heir, and then, all of a sudden, he had one. And he was almost an adult. Then, his darker thoughts emerged. He was never there for him, his son was already unleashing chaos on the world with his visual prowess much like he did at his age. Sasuke vowed to not let this happen to any other Uchiha, and it already did, without him knowing or being able to stop it. All his progress on his views of the clan, all this time with his wife and daughter that helped him to learn the virtue of hope, it all crumbled just like that. Gone. It hit him like a rock, he found himself thinking exactly like how he thaught in his darker times, the Uchiha clan was cursed, it was like they simply couldn't get away from this madness. Sasuke looked at his wife and daughter, they were as shocked as he was.

Then, something clicked in his mind. He couldn't allow himself to go back now. He had a family to protect, his wife and daughter, they needed him. He was the father, the leader of the Uchiha clan that was now rebuilding like he wished, and he could not show any weakness. Not only for his wife and daughter, but especially for this son of his. A son that was already on the road to darkness, he couldn't let him make the same mistakes he did. He decided to not see this as a tragedy, but the opposite, they had stopped him before he could go any further. Sasuke vowed to guide this boy, save him. It was ironic that Sasuke told himself he would learn from his own father, and he would be there for his children when they grew up... he had failed. Twice. However, he could still correct it. His children counted with something he never did, he was there for them now. Just like he did with Sarada, Sasuke would be there for his son now. It was the least he could do. The door opened again, Naruto Uzumaki, Sai and Ino Yamanaka entered.

"Damn it Shizune, I told you to wait" the 7th Hokage sighed.

"I couldn't" she answered as she was hugging Sakura.

"Well... I take it you know, then" Naruto supposed, the Uchiha family nodded "I guess that this is as good time as any, Ino, tell us what you discovered"

"I just entered his mind, and found out as much as I could, where should I start..." Ino spoke "his name is Sakumo" Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened.

"That... is Kakashi sensei's father's name" Naruto pointed out in shock.

"Yes..." Sakura said as she regained her composure and stood back up "Sasuke and I... we agreed on naming our child Sakumo if it was a boy"

"I'm named after the third Hokage's father, it only made sense for our son to be named after the father of the sixth" Sasuke explained.

"And he has that name" Naruto said "this is just insane, did you find out anything, anything that explains how this boy was taken away from his parents Ino?"

"Not exactly. What I saw, is that he was raised by two civilians from the Land of Water, but here's the crazy part. He knows that Sasuke and Sakura are his parents. He knows he's an Uchiha, but he thinks you are dead" Ino answered.

"Why would he think such a thing?" Sasuke asked.

"They just told him that. His adoptive parents told him he was given to them since both of you were dead and he was being hidden, because the Uchiha were being hunted down and killed. As to who gave him to them, they never told him"

"We need to find them" Sai spoke up.

"We can't. They're dead. They were killed a year ago. He doesn't know who killed them, he found them dead"

"He must have awakened the Mangekyo because of that" Sasuke pointed out.

"That means... he loved them" Sakura finished for him.

"Very much... from what I've seen, they were very nice people, I doubt they were responsible for the kidnapping" Ino replied.

"So what we found from him, it's a dead end, we can't find who kidnapped him from his knowledge alone" Sai asked his wife. Ino nodded. "Maybe his adoptive parents were killed by the very same person responsible for his kidnapping. Or it could have been a completely separate incident. All that is pure speculation and we can't work with that"

"That leaves us with what you know from the day Sarada... and Sakumo, were born" Naruto said "can you think of anything?"

"That day... we were on one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Only the two of us ,Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo were there" Sakura answered.

"And you trust them to not have anything to do with this" Naruto insisted.

"Suigetsu is too much of an idiot to even do something like that, much more less pull it off, Jugo is the most loyal person to me you can find on this planet" Sasuke answered.

"And Karin? Karin used to have a major crush on you Sasuke, maybe she did this because he resented you both. Karin is an Uzumaki like me, it hurts me to talk like this about family, but it is possible" Naruto offered.

"No. No way" Sakura was firm "Karin is one of my best friends. I would trust her with my life. She is Sarada's godmother for goodness' sakes, she gives Sarada a new pair of glasses every year" Sarada was surprised to see how her mother defended Karin, she knew they were friends, but she didn't know they were that close "no, Team Taka is innocent, back in those days, we were a family"

"So you can't think of anything"

"Maybe Orochimaru..." Sakura offered.

"I seriously doubt Orochimaru is foolish enough to do anything like this to me. He values his life too much" Sasuke interrupted.

"Yeah, that's why I wasn't saying it with much conviction" Sakura agreed.

"Maybe we should stop thinking about _who_ , and start thinking about _how_ " Sasuke brought up.

"Well that doesn't help. Is there even a jutsu that can manipulate memory like that? I'm from the Yamanaka clan and I'll tell you when we find it" Ino countered.

"As a matter of fact... there is one" Naruto replied.

"You're not talking about the Kotoamatsukami are you?" Sasuke asked his friend, Naruto nodded.

"Itachi burnt one of Shisui's eyes with the Amaterasu, but the other..." Naruto wondered.

"Destroyed" Sasuke interrupted "I know from Obito that Danzo destroyed it along with himself"

"Are you sure?"

"If for some reason he was lying, I destroyed that eye along with every other sharingan that Obito had in his lab right after the war" Sasuke reassured. Sarada wasn't talking, but she was paying a lot of attention. Shisui, Danzo and Obito, these were names she would make sure to remember.

"I want to talk to him" Sakura suddenly declared.

"Huh?" Naruto didn't get it.

"Look, we'll figure out what happened sooner or later. What's most important to me right now is talking to him. My son" she said.

"Well, that's up to you Sai. What do we do with him? Is he guilty of a serious crime?" Naruto asked him.

"Well, we can't really punish him for things he has done outside of our jurisdiction, and, he hasn't killed anyone, only used genjutsu on Hidden Mist shinobi. Only thing we can blame him for is taking justice into his own hands, luckily for him, without any fatal results"

"I wonder where he got that from" Naruto grinned at Sasuke.

"He's 16. We're responsible for him" Sasuke dismissed Naruto's provocation.

"Well, the circumstances are unusual, but you are correct, technically" Sai told Sasuke.

"What are we going to do with him?" Ino asked.

"He's coming home, with his family" Sasuke instantly replied. Sakura and Sarada looked at him, surprised. Nonetheless, they agreed with him.

"I'll allow it. But you have to come to my office and do my favourite hobby, some extensive paperwork" Naruto told Sasuke.

"That's fine by me, but we should talk to him first, maybe he doesn't want to" Sakura pointed out. Sasuke nodded.

"Great, I'll be waiting in my office if it works out" Naruto vanished with a poof, it was a shadow clone.

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura and Sarada went to the interrogation room. They went to the mirror room first, and looked at him, he was in the same position as they last saw him.

"He's been like that for over 4 hours, poor thing" Sakura commented.

"You haven't seen what he can do, mom" Sarada told her.

"I guess I can't help but see him in another light, now that I've discovered I'm his mother" she answered.

"His hairstyle is just like his grandfather's" Sasuke commented. He didn't even realize he said that aloud.

"We should go inside and talk to him now" Sakura told him.

"Hn" he agreed as they went to around to enter the room "wait here, Sarada" he told his daughter.

"Okay" she said as she stayed at the other side of the mirror. She saw her parents open the door and enter, Sakumo turned his head, hearing someone entered the room.

"What now, are you finally getting this thing off? I'd like to actually see" he complained.

"We will. I'm warning you, don't use your sharingan, I don't want to use mine on you" Sasuke said as he removed the seal from his eyes. Sakumo was surprised by this new voice he didn't hear before, even more by what it said. The light blinded him at first, he had to look away and blink multiple times. Once he adjusted and looked at the people in front of him, his eyes widened.

"Hello, Sakumo" Sakura greeted, with half a smile. That pink hair, that mark on her forehead... he thought. He then looked at the man beside her. He couldn't believe it. The very same people of the picture he used to keep like a treasure. They were older and changed a bit, but there was no mistake.

"You..." his voice cracked a bit "you are my parents"

"Yes" Sasuke confirmed.

"But... you're dead"

"No Sakumo, we are very much alive" Sasuke answered.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you ever come for me?"

"Sakumo... you were told we were dead. The truth is, you were taken from us when you were born" Sakura explained to him.

"What? Why?" Sakumo demanded.

"We don't know yet. To be honest, we didn't even know you existed. Not until today" she admitted.

"I..." Sakumo tried to talk, but he simply didn't know what to say.

"We are very sorry you had to grow up without us" she spoke first "but we will make it right from today onwards" she told him looking him in the eye.

"We want you to come home with us" Sasuke told him.

"This is too much for me" Sakumo shook his head "I have been my entire life thinking I was alone. And today, I find a girl who looks just like me, I'm taken to the Hidden Leaf, and I find out that my parents are alive, living here"

"That girl is Sarada Uchiha, your twin sister" Sakura told him.

"She's my sister. Great, and here I was, thinking things couldn't get any crazier" Sakumo simply couldn't believe what was happening "wait, my _twin_ sister? So she was born with me? I was taken away and she wasn't?"

"We will find out what happened sooner or later" Sasuke informed him "what's important right now, is that you're back with us"

"We are blood family, but right now, you seem like complete strangers to me" Sakumo answered "besides, I don't like the idea of living in the Hidden Leaf" he said with a challenging behaviour.

"You don't have an option. You have been doing things you shouldn't do, the Hidden Leaf can't allow an Uchiha with a mangekyo sharingan running free, much more less if you're pulling the stunts you have been pulling. You're also underage, which means, we are responsible for you" Sasuke began to get a bit too authoritative.

"Well thank you for the concern, but I will _not_ be a _slave_ of the Hidden Leaf" Sakumo rebelled. Sakura observed her son's behaviour, she began to get an idea of how to deal with him.

"Excuse your father Sakumo, he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes" she told him, this caused her husband to glare, but she ignored him "what he really means, is that we want to help you. I know we can't just get along like a family all of a sudden, but this is what we want, to try and begin heading towards that direction. I don't know what your problems with the Hidden Leaf are, but we want to know, we are your parents" she could see her son warming up a bit. Both men there with her didn't know it, but they were very much alike, Sakura noticed Sakumo was feeling trapped, pressured and powerless. And just like his father, he would rebel. What she had to do, is let him know that he wasn't, make him feel he had control "at least, stay with us for a couple of days, get to know your parents and your sister, get answers to the questions we know you have"

"If you put it that way..." Sakumo said while looking away. Sakura restrained herself from grinning, he really was just like his father, at least on this aspect.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable before" Sasuke also began to see what his son was like. It was also very hypocritical for him to act that way. He should take a different approach, if he wanted to help his son avoid making the same mistakes he made "just like your mother said, we want you to know we are your family, and we're here for you. Sakumo, you are part of the Uchiha clan, I don't know if you know what that entails, I'll be more than glad to explain it to you these days. What I can tell you now, is that the safest and best option for you is here, in the Hidden Leaf Village, with your family" Sasuke told his son in a much more warm demeanor.

"I guess I don't have anywhere else to go" Sakumo's pride couldn't allow him to just say yes "so okay. I'll stay with you"

"Thank you, Sakumo, you won't regret it" Sakura smiled.

"We have to go to speak to the Hokage to get everything arranged. We'll be back to take you home" Sasuke announced as he got up and exited the room with Sakura.

Sakumo watched his real parents leave. Just as they left, he noticed he still had the restraints on, he sighed in frustration. Then, he saw the girl from before enter the room, his twin sister. They stared at each other in silence, Sarada got close to him and started cutting his restraints, Sakumo rubbed his wrists and stretched his legs, free, at last. Then, his sister sat where their mother sat before. There was still silence, they simply looked at each other for minutes.

"So... you're my twin brother" Sarada spoke first, since Sakumo wouldn't.

"So I've been told... Sarada, right?" he asked. Sarada nodded.

"Don't try anything stupid" Sarada warned him as she activated her sharingan.

"You don't trust me" Sakumo stated.

"Why should I? You almost killed Hanabi"

"Because you wanted to take me here by force, and you were succesful, it's me the one who should be pissed, not you"

"You attacked us"

"You're shinobi"

"What is your problem with shinobi?" Sarada asked him, she was very curious about this, after hearing him speak ill of shinobi just as much as he talked.

"Why wouldn't I have one?" he asked back "Shinobi killed my parents, or well, my adoptive parents" he had to remind himself "you reproach me almost killing your friend, have you ever thought of how many people she has killed? And why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Leaf, Sand, Mist, Cloud, Stone... even the smaller villages. You shinobi are all the same. Mercenaries. Enforcers. You will kill anyone as long as someone pays the right price, and more often than not, that someone is not a good person"

"We are keepers of order and peace, not assasins" she defended.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night"

"Well, I'm glad that my brother a sense of morality. From what I've seen before, I thought you were a psychopath" Sarada told him.

"I'm not the monster here, you are oblivious to what shinobi are to regular people" he insisted.

"It's the other way around. You don't know what shinobi really are. Your views will change, I can promise you, you will become one soon enough"

"Not a chance in hell" he snorted.

"You're kind of an asshole" she told her brother.

"And you're kind of a smartass" he retorted. Both smirked at each other.

"Can I ask you something?" she radically changed the subject.

"Sure"

"Do you feel it too? This connection? Like you found something lost you didn't know you had? I don't know how to explain it" she tried to formulate the right words.

"I do" he answered "it's weird for me too. It's like I've known you my entire life... but we just met"

"Exactly" Sarada was so glad to hear that from him "is it because we're twins?"

"Must be" he shrugged "nonetheless, I'm glad we finally met each other"

"Likewise" she smiled.

Unknown to them, their mother was watching them from the other side of the mirror. She was smiling, and a tear of joy came out of her eye. Her children were bonding as the siblings they were, and faster than she thought.

* * *

 **Hokage's Office**

"That should do it" Sasuke said as he signed the last paper.

"Alright" Naruto said as he took it and stacked all the forms together "can't wait for the next ones, when he joins the Hidden Leaf as a shinobi" he sarcastically announced.

"One step at a time" Sasuke answered as he remembered what his son said earlier. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but he decided to not ask about it, he was more than used to the mysterious and random remarks of his best friend. Sasuke got up.

"Sasuke, before you leave" he interjected "I want you to know that we will do everything we can to find out what happened. I'm assigning someone special to investigate the whole ordeal"

"Who?"

"I can't tell you. I know you and you will interfere. My initial orders stand. You and Sakura are forbidden to get involved in the investigation" Naruto told him.

"Hn" Sasuke nodded "it's what's best. But I want to know every detail as soon as it is discovered"

"Fair enough" Naruto agreed as Sasuke put his hand on the door handle "how do you think Sakumo will get along with Boruto?" he couldn't help but bring that up.

"Like cats and dogs" Sasuke answered, it was obvious.

"Duh" Naruto rolled his eyes "I mean, how long do you think it will take for them to be like their old men?"

"Years"

"I say months" Naruto answered, always the optimist.

"You got yourself a bet. If it takes less than a year for them to become close, you win. I win if a year passes. Not one day more, not one day less" Sasuke smirked.

"It's on" Naruto grinned as Sasuke left his office.

 _And that's it for chapter 6 folks, the great mystery reamins unsolved, so stay tuned to see how this develops!_

 _I decided I'm bringing back an old tradition of fanfiction and I'll start answering some reviews at the end of each chapter. Feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions, feedback is highly appreciated and I'll answer you. Here are the first reviews that have encouraged me to make this decision:_

 _Guest: will we see some sasusaku lovin?_

 _I assume you're talking about lemons. I honestly don't know, considering the tone the story has right now, it just doesn't feel right. However, that might change, and I have put an M rating just in case. We will see._

 _CelticSpring: What?! oh my gods.! Karin and orochimaru kidnapped sarada's twin! that is my theory. I can't wait to see what's next._

 _Very good theory, I did make a strong case against it in this chapter, but hey, you never know._

 _Barrrbs: I liked the ending of the chapter, I'm on my toes. But Sasuke was too oc which is an overkill for me_

 _Thanks! I am very glad you brought this up. You are correct, Sasuke is_ _ **very**_ _different, when he's interacting with his family. He's more in character when interacting with other characters. And not just Sasuke, but Sakura's behaviour with Sasuke is completely different from what we are seeing in canon. This is one of the many reasons I am writing this story. How their relationship is in the official release, in my opinion, it just doesn't work very well. I'm also taking inspiration from other fanfics who view this the same way as I do. Don't worry, I will explain everything soon enough on the story, after all, we're just getting started._

 _See y'all in chapter 7!_


	7. Sakumo Uchiha, Part 2

_Hello everyone. I'm very sorry for disappearing for so long, I've been quite busy and I found myself with no time to write. I have found some time now and I hope I can get back to it in a regular rhythm. Updates will probably take a while, but well, better late than never I guess._

 _Good news is I've had more than enough time to think about things, so the story is planned out and there are a lot of good things coming planned for a long term._

 _Anyway no more excuses, and on with the story, you've waited enough._

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sakumo's eyes opened. He sat bolt upright in the bed as he did not recognize where he was, then, his memories provided the explanation to calm him down. He remembered everything that happened the day before. Fighting Hidden Leaf ninja, losing the battle, being brought to the Hidden Leaf, and finally discovering that his real parents were alive, as well as finding out he had a twin sister and moving in with them.

After being released from the police station, his parents and sister took him to their house, had dinner and talked to his family, and went to bed, as it was late and everyone was tired. He did get to meet his family, at least a little bit.

* * *

His father, Sasuke Uchiha, the man responsible for the heritage everyone told him he was special, was not a very talkative man. He was the one that spoke the least in that dinner he had last night, only answering questions when directly addressed, asking some and offering some comments. He looked tough, he would say that his father actually made him feel rather intimidated. Two things about his father's left side of his body caught Sakumo's attention and he couldn't help but stare at the man every now and then. His left arm was covered in bandages, and his left eye was hidden behind his hair. At first, Sakumo speculated that his father had been in some type of incident that scarred the left side of his body, he was a shinobi, so maybe a battle. His theory was proven wrong as he was able to see his father's left eye for a split second. His eye did not look normal, it was entirely purple with ripples, no sclera. That freaked him out. He thought his own Sharingan was the weirdest eye he would ever see in his life but after seeing his father's eye and that woman he fought who had white eyes and veins on her face around it proved him that he had seen nothing yet. There was a lot he didn't know about the shinobi world, and he was eager to learn more, which was one of the reasons he accepted his family's offer of staying with them. He must understand the enemy if he wants to defeat them. Anyway, his father held all the answers to the questions he had, he wondered just how difficult that would be since his father was not very open. At least, he now saw where his antisocial tendencies came from.

His mother, Sakura, was almost the literal opposite. She was the one who talked the most, asking him questions and telling him about them and the place that would be his home now. It turns out his parents were pretty important people, his mother being in charge of the Hidden Leaf's hospital and his father being captain of the police force. If shinobi weren't so secretive about their organizations to the rest of the world, he would have known his parents were alive in no time. Sakumo noticed his mother looked extremely young for a woman that was in her late 30s, also, there was a purple diamond in her forehead, was it a tattoo? Does it have something to do with her appearance? He could only wonder. His mother was also extremely nice, made him feel welcome, it was a warm feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time, only his... adoptive, mother made him feel like that once. It made Sakumo feel both pain and happiness at the same time, a feeling he wasn't very comfortable with, he would like to reciprocate his mother's clear affection for him, but he simply wasn't ready for it yet. His relationship with his birth mother was going to be a roller coaster of emotions, something that Sakumo wasn't very excited about, he did not like emotions very much.

And then there was the person that fascinated him the most, his twin sister that he did not even know about until a couple of hours ago, Sarada. Compared with their parents, she looked normal, if you forget about the fact that she has a sharingan, just like him. Sarada was a chunin, the level 3 of ninja he was told, only surpassed by a jonin, which was what his parents were. All the ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village were under the command of the Hokage, which was friends with his parents. If Sakumo would eventually decide to become a ninja, he would have to go through the academy and the rank of genin to catch up to his sister. Sakumo was rather skeptical to the idea, only to be teased by his sister again. His parents insisted, since it would help him understand what he was and what he could do. Sarada and Sakura told him about her friends and teammates, who he would be meeting soon. This Boruto kid Sarada spoke of... he seemed like an interesting fellow.

The weirdest thing he felt, was a feeling of comfort he had with them. He found himself having fun somehow. He finally found people like him, his family. When asked about his past, he shockingly found himself willing to talk about it. The memory of his now deceased adoptive mother appeared, _don't keep everything to yourself,_ _talking about it helps._ And so, he told the tale of his life to them, there's no one better to open up to than his own family, he figured.

Sakumo Hojo, now Uchiha, was raised by Fudo and Aiko Hojo, a couple from the Land Of Water. Fudo was a salesman, Aiko, a teacher.

His childhood was a normal one, just a regular kid growing up in a modest village in the Land Of Water. Then, when he was 13 years old, the death of the family dog triggered his sharingan. His life took a turn, if you asked him for the worst, after that. Finding out his parents are not his real parents, that he comes from a family of freaks with superhuman eyes that make other people fear them, and that his real parents were hunted down and killed for that. He found himself unable to control his sharingan, it awakened in something as innocent as playing sports with his friends, and it gave him abilities that he could only dream about in the past. This caused his then "friends" to call him a freak and discriminate him, out of fear, he came to realize. After that, his parents decided they had to move, for their own safety. The next two years would consist of moving to another village in the Land Of Water, having an incident where he couldn't control his sharingan, and repeating the process, his sharingan getting stronger each time, it just wasn't fair that he was treated badly and found himself running, it infuriated him. He discovered that his eyes got stronger and different every time he felt wronged and angry. It all came to an end one horrible day, where he got back home to find his adoptive parents' corpses. He realized that his parents died because of him, they were good people just raising a boy they found. They did not deserve that. Then he realized his eyes evolved yet again, awakening something completely different from before, which his father just told him were called the Mangekyo Sharingan. that gave him the ability to create black flames that burned everything in their path.

Sakumo swore revenge, he would find the people who killed his adoptive parents and send them to hell with the black flames. His trail led him to fighting shinobi, in which he discovered his eyes abilities and use them to the fullest. He could read and anticipate movements that granted him the ability to fight back against ninja, he could use his eyes to hypnotize people, read their minds with them... but the most useful power of them all was creating a shield, like an armored person made of fire that protected him. That's how he ended up in Shark Village, teaming up with other people who had a grudge against shinobi as well. He would stay there and wait to come across the shinobi who killed his parents, that was, until yesterday. He was planning to move out eventually, he doubted his parents' killer would show up in the village after taking down so many. Anyway, he would find them and bring them to justice, if the Hidden Leaf was a path that would help him do so, he was happy to accept it.

Sakumo felt the mood in the room shift as soon as he talked about his desire for vengeance. His father simply got up and announced he was going to bed, Sakumo could swear there was a sad expression on Sasuke's face. Anyway, he got closer to Sakumo, poked his forehead and told him he would see him the next day. He looked at his mother and sister hoping to get answers to what the hell that was. They only smiled. Sarada also said good night and went to her room. Sakura showed Sakumo to what would become his room, poked his forehead as well and left. Sakumo put his hand on his forehead wondering what that was all about. He didn't have too much time to think about it though, as he was very tired, he undressed, simply collapsed on what would from now on be his bed and fell asleep in no time.

* * *

After reminiscing about the day before, Sakumo got up only to find that his clothes were nowhere to be found. He saw some clothes on his nightstand with a note on top of them.

 _Your clothes were dirty Sakumo,_

 _Until they're clean, you can put these on, they were your father's when he was about your age,_

 _Love,_

 _Sakura._

The note read. He picked the clothes up, a black shirt that had the same symbol his family wore on the back (the clan insignia, he figured) and black pants. He sighed and dressed, he didn't know how to feel about wearing his clan's clothes since the first day already, but well, he was the spitting image of his father and sister so might as well confirm to the Hidden Leaf villagers that he was indeed an Uchiha.

He exited his room and heard two female voices downstairs. His mother and sister, he deduced, and made his way down the stairs.

"Show him around the village when he wakes up, okay Sarada?" he heard Sakura say from the front door.

"Yeah mom, I know" Sarada responded annoyed from the kitchen.

"Oh Sakumo, you're up" Sakura shifted her attention as she spotted Sakumo on the bottom of the stairs "I'm sorry I can't be with you today, I have to got work, but Sarada is free all day so stick with her okay?" she asked him.

"Hn" he simply grunted in response. This made Sakura smile as she opened the door and left.

"Hey" he saw his sister emerge from the kitchen "so, shall we?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do"

Both exited the house and started walking around the Hidden Leaf. Sakumo couldn't understand why people still called it the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves", this was easily the biggest city he had ever been in. He was amazed by how massive it was, and when he got to the center of the village, where huge screens were on buildings, he felt like he was in the future or something. Apparently, the rumors of there being a new Uchiha in town spread around like a wildfire, everyone stared at the pair, especially young women and girls.

"I heard stories from mom and aunt Ino about how Uchiha boys drove the girls crazy, but this is just ridiculous" Sarada complained.

"You get used to it" Sakumo casually responded.

"It sounds like you're bragging"

"I'm not"

"You don't like the female attention?" Sarada was curious.

"I don't have time for girls" he snorted. Sarada recalled Cho Cho talking about how a boy not caring about girls was 'super hot' and this caused her to sweatdrop.

"Anyway... this is the hospital, and that building at the end of the road is the police headquarters" she pointed "I'm telling you because this is where mom and dad are pretty much all day, let's hope most of the times you're there are just to visit okay?" Sakumo nodded.

"What's that?" Sakumo pointed at the hill with the faces on it.

"Oh, that's the Hokage Rock" she explained "the face of every Hokage is carved in there. Starting from the left, Hashirama Senju, his brother Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, their student Minato Namikze, Lord 7th 's father, Tsunade Senju, our mother's mentor, Kakashi Hatake, our parents' sensei and Naruto Uzumaki, the current Hokage"

"Sounds like the Hokage title is kind of fixed if you asked me" Sakumo commented.

"Huh? Why would you say that?" Sarada asked.

"Three Senjus? The 7th father was the 4th? The third was the 1st and 2nd 's student?"

"Well, your parents, ergo you, are in that conspiracy theory of yours" she shot back. Sakumo smirked.

"Hasn't there ever been an Uchiha who has been Hokage?" he asked.

"No... but there will be" she said, Sakumo looked at her "I will be Hokage someday" she announced.

"You want to be Hokage?" Sarada nodded "well, you're the daughter of the 5th 's disciple, and daughter of the 6th 's students and 7th 's teammates, so you should hope my conspiracy theory is true" Sarada glared "So, would you say the your life goal is to rule over others?" he randomly brought up.

"The Hokage is not a king Sakumo, he's an example to other shinobi, not their ruler"

"If you say so" he said with another smirk.

"Hungry?" she decided to change the subject, she didn't want to argue with her brother over this.

"I just woke up"

"It's 2 P.M." she answered.

"Already? Did I sleep that much?" Sarada nodded, it was her turn to smirk "well okay then"

Sarada took Sakumo to Thunder Burger, she figured all her friends would be there and she might as well introduce her brother to them. To her lack of surprise, they were there indeed, they practically lived there. She opened the door, Sakumo went in behind her and everyone stared.

"Well I'll be damned... my old man wasn't kidding" Shikadai spoke up first. Fries fell out of Boruto's mouth when he saw the pair walk in, he instantly got up and ran to them.

"Is this really your twin brother Sarada!? He really looks just like you! No, more like Uncle Sasuke!" Boruto circled around Sakumo. Sakumo's eyebrow twitched, he was not some kind of statue "I'm Boruto Uzumaki! Your sister's teammate!" he offered his hand with a wide grin from ear to ear.

"Uzumaki?" Sakumo asked as he hessitantly shook his hand.

"Yes, he is the son of the 7th Hokage" Mitsuki explained. Sakumo stared at him. He was abnormally pale and frankly, that smile of his just creeped him out "I'm Mitsuki, the third member of your sister's team"

"Shikadai Nara"

"Inojin Yamanaka"

"Cho Cho Akimichi"

"I doubt I'll remember so many names" Sakumo said, overwhelmed by meeting so many people at once.

"Yeah lay off him you guys! Let me handle this alone!" Boruto wrapped his arm around Sakumo and pretty much dragged him to a seat next to his "you _want_ to try this burger out! It's amazing!" he pointed at the menu. Boruto started talking about how he was the coolest guy in town, and bragging about countless other things. Sarada could tell this annoyed Sakumo very much. She had a malicious smirk, she knew for a fact Boruto and her brother would _not_ get along.

"Sarada" her friend Cho Cho pulled her back to reality "I will never be able to look at you the same way again..." she sounded sad.

"Huh?"

"Your brother..." she said shyly "is insanely _hot_ " Sarada sighed. She was simply not surprised.

"So? It's great isn't it?" Boruto stared at Sakumo eating a burger with anticipation.

"Do you ever shut up?" Sakumo asked with his eyes closed. _And so it begins_ Sarada thought.

"What the hell's your problem man?" Boruto complained.

"I'm trying to eat in peace here. I've been listening to your incessant yapping for like 5 minutes, and that's how long I've known you"

" _Yapping?"_ Boruto growled. Mitsuki stood next to them smiling, he found it very amusing, this Uchiha boy was an even better asshole than Sarada.

"You're way too loud, and stupid. It's like the annoyed looks and silence that I've been giving you weren't enough for you to get that I was not very fond of your barrage of stupid questions" Sakumo informed.

"Oh I see" Boruto changed his attitude from angry to cocky "it's that Uchiha attitude right? You're just like your sister and your old man, trying to act like you're too cool for me"

"I'm pretty sure that you annoy everyone, not just Uchihas"

"He has a point" Shikadai said from the table next to theirs, trying to add fuel to the fire.

"You stay out of this Shikadai!" Boruto yelled at his lazy friend.

"All that bragging... you compensating for something?" Sakumo smirked. Pissing this guy off was way too fun for him.

"You lookin' for a fight pal?" Boruto threatened.

"Fine by me. I know your kind all too well... All bark. No bite" he said as he finished his hamburger. It was indeed very good, he would not let Boruto know that, though.

"That's it! Training grounds! 10 minutes!" Boruto slammed the table and stormed off.

"Fight! Boruto versus the new Uchiha dude!" Inojin screamed to let everyone know.

Sarada stood speechless as everyone ran off to the training grounds. That escalated way too quickly. She glared at her brother and walked towards him.

"What the hell was that about?" she demanded.

"I wanted to see for myself how childish this Boruto guy was. You weren't kidding" he told her.

"He also happens to be one of the strongest ninja here! And you're going to fight him?"

"I want to see how strong the son of the Hokage is. Just a friendly spar like you shinobi say right?"

"Well it's not like you can get out of it" Sarada sighed "come on, I'll take you there. Friendly spar, if it gets too intense, I'm stepping in, got it _bro_?" she said as Sakumo stood up.

"Sure thing, _sis_ " he smirked as they got out of the restaurant.

 _To be continued..._


	8. The soul of a shinobi

**Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

"So, you're really going through with this" Sarada told her brother as she stood next to him. A smirking Boruto was in front of them, talking to Shikadai. A crowd of about thirty people gathered around them, there to watch the battle.

"Of course" Sakumo replied, he turned his attention to Boruto, who was now stretching. Shikadai moved to stand with the crowd.

"Well okay then" Sarada sighed "just remember, this is, like you said, a friendly spar. Don't use dangerous techniques, I don' think I have to get into details"

"I'm not crazy enough to use _that_ here" he reassured. Sarada simply nodded and walked to Boruto.

"Hey" she greeted her teammate.

"Yo, Sarada" he grinned "forgive me, but I'm going to kick your brother's ass, he asked for it"

"Yeah... about that, he baited you into this fight to test your strength, and he had only heard about you, seriously Boruto, you are such a predictable dumbass" she scolded. Boruto sweatdropped.

"Well, this was going to happen anyway, I would have challenged him to a battle eventually" he tried to appear cool.

"Sure" Sarada looked away. Boruto felt like yelling at her, but that would only prove her point, so he forced himself to calm down.

"Is he strong?" he changed the subject.

"To be honest, I'm not sure..." she thought aloud "I mean, his Sharingan is _strong_ , even stronger than mine..." Boruto gulped "but he won't use that, I told him to hold back, not go overboard. Needless to say, the same goes for you" she told him.

"Sure, sure. I won't seriously hurt your brother, don't worry" he grinned. "So what can I expect from him? Give some pointers to your teammate will ya?" Boruto insisted.

"I honestly can't tell you. I haven't seen his taijutsu, or ninjutsu... nothing of the sort. This is actually a great chance for me to see how he does in those areas" she said.

"Great, so I'm sort of a test" he pouted. He looked at Sakumo only to find him giving him a bored stare. Boruto got annoyed, god, did his attitude piss him off.

"I guess I'll leave you to it then" Sarada said as she started to walk away.

"Wait" Boruto told her before she turned around "who are you cheering for?" he said with a smirk.

"I couldn't care less about both of you idiots playing macho, I'm just here to make sure none of you go too far" she replied in a condescending manner before joining the crowd.

"Tch" Boruto huffed before he shifted his full attention to Sakumo "if what it takes for you to have some respect for me is kicking your ass, I will do it gladly" he told Sakumo.

"Like I said, stop talking so big and actually prove your claims with actions" Sakumo responded.

"That's the plan, asshole" Boruto said as he started spinning a kunai in his hand.

"Does anyone have a sword?" Sakumo asked, if this guy was going to use weapons, so should he.

"Yeah, here" Inojin said before taking his weapon out of his back and threw it to Sakumo. Sakumo caught it.

"What the fuck is this? A sword or a dagger?" he asked as he studied Inojin's short sword.

"If you don't like it, you can give it back" Inojin countered.

"Whatever" Sakumo said as he turned his full attention to his opponent.

"Enough chit-chat! Start the fight already!" someone in the crowd urged.

Boruto and Sakumo didn't waste any time after that. Both locked eyes at each other and charged ahead. Boruto's kunai connected with Sakumo's (Inojin's) sword. After connecting glares and seeing that none of them could push the other away with brute force, they jumped back and connected again. Boruto was on the offensive, trying to hit Sakumo with the kunai, but Sakumo was more than capable enough to block all of Boruto's thrusts. Sakumo let out a smirk, he didn't even need to use his sharingan to keep up with Boruto's speed. Boruto noticed, and he got angry. He would show him to ridicule him like that, he was getting serious now. The speed of Boruto's attacks dramatically increased, and Sakumo started to have trouble, after barely dodging one, he realized he had no choice and his sharingan spun into life in his eyes, Sakumo went back to blocking Boruto's attacks with ease and fought in a much more calm manner again. Boruto thrusted his kunai again, this time he used chakra to enhance the strength of his attack, Sakumo blocked, but the force behind it took him by surprise and he lost the grip of the sword, which was sent flying upwards.

"Gotcha" Boruto exclaimed as he attacked again, attempting to attack Sakumo from below and sweep him, Sakumo was forced to dodge and jumped, which left him exposed to an attack from Boruto who was right under him, or so he thought, Sakumo spun in the air and in an action too fast to see, he kicked Boruto's kunai out of his hand as well, Sakumo followed with another kick downwards, but Boruto rolled and evaded it. Boruto rapidly stood up and defended against a barrage of punches and kicks from Sakumo, all he could do was block, until Sakumo landed a roundhouse kick that knocked Boruto back.

Inojin jumped and retrieved his sword that was spinnung in the air and heading towards the crowd. The crowd was speechless, most of them couldn't even keep up with such a fast paced battle. Sarada was impressed, not by Boruto, whose moves she knew all too well, but Sakumo's. She should have expected as much, after all, he fought a ton of shinobi and had a fully matured Sharingan. Still, his taijutsu was beyond impressive, Sarada didn't think she could have pulled off the mid air stunt quite as easily as he did.

Back to the other two, Boruto stepped back from Sakumo and formed a cross like sign with his two hands.

 _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_

He exclaimed as ten Borutos appeared after a cloud of smoke. Sakumo stared, another _ninja trick_ he didn't know about. He remained calm as the ten Borutos charged towards him. He counter attacked one of them and it simply disappeared in another cloud of smoke, Sakumo's eyebrow raised as he was still trying to figure out what this technique was. Sakumo was no fool, he would not engage on all of them at once, he deliberately evaded and only attacked if he could on one at a time. He noticed that these clones were significantly weaker, individually, than Boruto was... when he was one. He smirked as he figured out that he might be 10 people now, but the strength of one of them was 1/10th of his normal strength. Sakumo dealt with all of them, he landed a punch on the last one expecting him to be the real one, but it disappeared as well. That could only mean... Sakumo turned around to see the real Boruto charging towards him with a ball that glowed on his hand, he didn't have much time and did the only thing he could, he stared at Boruto's eyes. Boruto collapsed before he could reach Sakumo with his attack.

 _Genjutsu_ , Sarada noticed. Still, she was surprised that he would counter a rasengan in such a weird manner, she would never do that because it was too risky, and even if it landed, Boruto could easily...

Sakumo was punched by Boruto and fell down.

"Surprised? Genjutsu won't knock me out for long pal, I'm your sister's teammate and I was trained by your old man, you should know better than expecting to win with sharingan genjutsu" Boruto exclaimed. Sakumo got up and saw Boruto's right eye. His iris turned from blue to white, and his sclera from white to black. Great, another weird eye to add to his mental collection.

"So you have visual prowess... too" Sakumo pointed out.

"Yeah" Boruto confirmed "your Sharingan ain't half bad, you could read everyone of my movements, but now, let's see how your visual prowess stacks against mine" he said as he adopted a fighting stance that Sakumo instantly recognized from the woman he fought before.

Boruto's moves were completely different, attacking with his palms instead of his fists, making it difficult for Sakumo to counter them. All he could do was dodge, so he jumped back and got some distance, fighting close range was not a good idea. Sakumo examined his options, when he had to fight from long range, he used genjutsu, but that didn't work out well last time, and Boruto would be expecting it now. Before he could plan his approach, Boruto started performing handseals.

 _Water Style: Water Wall!_

Sakumo could only stare in awe as Boruto spit an absurd amount of water from his mouth, Sakumo jumped upwards as the wave of water that Boruto created passed through. He looked at a smirking Boruto, and he caught sight at what he would call _ninja stars_ in his hands, which appeared to carry an electric current. He was falling down and he saw that the floor was wet.

 _Shit_. Was all he could say as he landed and Boruto threw the shuriken at the ground. Next thing Sakumo felt was being shocked and collpasing.

Boruto walked towards him, yeah, Sakumo was able to sit up, but that was a hell of a shock he received and he was not in any shape to fight anymore. He had lost. He looked up to see Boruto holding two of his fingers up.

"This is what shinobi do after a battle" he explained "just wrap your fingers around mine" he instructed. Sakumo nodded and he did so. Boruto pulled him up "so, do you respect me now?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"Just a little bit" he growled, Sakumo did not like losing. Boruto simply huffed with a cocky smile and walked towards the crowd.

"I won" he announced, making the victory sign with his fingers. The crowd cheered and gathered around him. Sakumo glared, it did annoy him.

"So, you lost" his sister appeared next to him. Sakumo didn't answer "why didn't you use ninjutsu to counter his attack?" Sarada asked.

"Ninjutsu?" Sakumo raised an eyebrow.

"Right, you're not familiar with our terms. You know, like elemental attacks?"

"You mean spitting water out of your mouth like he did?"

"Yes"

"Yeah, I can't do that" Sakumo replied.

"What?" Sarada's mouth was wide open "You can't use ninjutsu? You're shitting me" such a level of taijutsu and genjutsu? Taking on Hanabi and Rock Lee? And he couldn't use ninjutsu? Then again, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, he really could take on such opponents without knowing ninjutsu couldn;t he?. Still, being able to fight at such a level and being incapable of doing basic ninjutsu attacks, it was unbelievable. Sarada couldn't help it. She started laughing.

"What's so fucking funny?" Sakumo was furious.

"Sorry, sorry... it's just, hard to believe, that's all" she said as she calmed down "guess you have a pretty good reason to become a shinobi now, huh, brother?" she teased.

"Fuck off" he barked.

"Jesus, calm down, no need to be so angry... let's get outta here now that everyone's around Boruto, I guess you don't want to stick around and explain your loss to everyone" she said as she knew that Sakumo was _pissed_.

"You think?" he mocked as he stood up.

"Come on, let's go home, I'll heal you up when we get there"

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sarada and Sakumo entered their house. Sarada was surprised to hear the sound of the TV.

"Anyone home?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm in the living room" Sakura's voice answered.

"What are you doing here mom?" she asked as both entered the living room.

"It seems that I have only morning shifts now. Shizune insisted, since..." she looked at her son "Sakumo! What happened? You're covered in bruises!"

"He fought Boruto" Sarada answered for him.

"What? You just met and you're already fighting? You silly boy! Sit here and let me heal you!" she commanded. Sakumo obeyed, seeing her mad, frankly, kind of scared him. A green glow came out of Sakura's hands, and it did make Sakumo feel better.

"It's not that bad, that loser only managed to shock me with some weird technique, if he hadn't caught me with that-" he complained.

"Yeah, that technique? Dad taught Boruto that. I don't know it that's ironic or pathetic" Sarada teased. Sakumo glared again.

"Shut the fuck up"

"Don't talk to your sister like that" Sakura scolded him. "So you lost?" Sakura asked him. She was honestly not teasing him, it kind of bothered her that her son lost to Naruto's, it did disappoint her.

"Yes, because, get this, Sakumo can't use ninjutsu" Sarada explained.

"Really?" Sakura asked, amazed.

"Can you stop that? It's not a big deal" Sakumo complained.

"You really hate losing huh?" Sakura smiled "don't worry, I'll teach you ninjutsu and you'll get a rematch"

"Whatever" he looked away. Sakura couldn't help but reminisce. Sakumo with that expression because of Boruto was the spitting image of his father about 20 years ago.

"So you were saying mom? You have only morning shifts now because...?" Sarada asked her mother.

"Oh right" Sakura said as she finished healing Sakumo "Now that... Sakumo's with us, Shizune thinks I should spend more time at home" she explained.

"Makes sense I guess" Sarada shrugged. A sudden grunt of Sakumo interrupted the conversation, he was covering his eyes and looked like he was in pain.

"Sakumo! Are you alright?" his mother rushed to him.

"I'm... fine" he tried to calm them down "it happens to me sometimes"

"Let me see" Sakura told him, Sakumo looked hesitant "your sister and your father have pain in their eyes sometimes and I fix them up, don't worry" she comforted him. Sakumo nodded and let her put her hands on his eyes. Sakura reached and scanned his optical nerves with her chakra. She gasped. They weren't tired or chakra depleted like Sarada's and Sasuke's... they were... dead. No chakra flowing through them. Then, it hit her. Of course.

"Is everything alright mom?" Sarada asked, the gasp her mother let out, it was worrying.

"Yes" Sakura answered "listen, I'm taking Sakumo to the hospital, but don't worry, it's not serious"

"Why?" Sakumo asked.

"I have to give you a special medicine" she told him, Sakumo looked annoyed "don't you want that pain to go away? Come on, let's go" she said as she got up. Sakumo grunted and followed her.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Hospital**

"How often does this happen to you?" Sakura asked as she flashed a light into Sakumo's eyes.

"I don't know, it comes and goes, but not very often" he answered.

"Have you experienced loss of vision? Or blurry vision?"

"When the pain comes, yes"

"Ok..." she said as she put away her equipment.

"So?" he asked.

"I'll go get the medicine, I'll be right back" Sakura said as she left the room. She took out her cell phone and speed dialed her husband.

" _What_ " Sasuke's voice said after a couple of rings.

"Well hello to you too Sasuke, it's your beautiful wife" she rolled her eyes.

" _Kind of busy here, did something happen?_ "

"Yeah... Sakumo's eyes..."

" _The Mangekyo"_ he finished for her " _how is it?"_

"Not too bad. I'll give him the medicine, but you need to talk to him about it, ASAP"

" _Okay. I should come home tonight for dinner, I'll bring it up"_

"Are you sure? Sarada...?"

" _Yes, she should know about it, too"_

"Okay... I'll see you tonight then?"

" _Yeah"_

"Love you"

" _Hn_ " he hung up. Sakura rolled her eyes again. Why couldn't he just say it? Anyway, she headed to her office and looked for the formula she needed in her files. How long had it been? To her it felt like it was just a couple of days ago. When she traveled around the world with Sasuke, when they just started their life together. It was during those days where they went to the Howling Wolf Village. It was a very special place to Sasuke. There she learned more from the good man that his brother Itachi really was, and met Kina, an actual friend that Sasuke made there. It warmed her heart, to learn that Sasuke was not as heartless as it seemed, even in his darkest days. There, she acquired the formula for the eye drops to alleviate the side effects of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Kina offered it to them, since it would be possible that one day they would need it. And here she was, that day had finally arrived. Back then, the scenario looked very distant, as well as improbable, it was crazy to think about it. Lost in her thoughts, she snapped back to reality and found the formula. She found the right ingredients and prepared the eye drops. She made her way back to her son after that.

"Here" she announced as she entered the room with the eye drops.

"Is something wrong? You took long and I'm not dumb, you look worried" Sakumo told her.

"I guess that yes, there is something wrong. Your father will tell you about it tonight, but don't worry too much about it okay?" she smiled.

"Okay..." he gave her a weird look.

"Now, open your eyes" she instructed. Sakumo looked nervous "something wrong Sakumo?" she tilted her head.

"I'm not... comfortable, with things, _touching_ my eyes" he spat out nervously.

"Really..." she smirked.

"Don't start teasing me like Sarada" he glared.

"Don't worry, I won't" she restrained a laugh "look Sakumo, considering the pain you are experiencing, trust me, you won't feel a thing" Sakumo wouldn't budge "Sakumo Uchiha, stop being such a baby and open your eyes" she provoked him. Of course, it worked. Uchiha boys and their stupid pride, they were so easy to manipulate.

"Look, it's not just because of the pain okay? It;s that the sight of something touching your eyes-"

"Done" she said as she finished.

"Really?" he asked, he didn't even notice it.

"I told you you wouldn't feel a thing didn't I?" Sakumo just nodded "now, when you start feeling this pain, just apply the eye drops okay? Worst case scenario, you can get your mother to help you" she winked. Sakumo just grunted.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"I'm home" Sasuke announced as he closed the door behind him and took off his Police Captain jacket.

"Oh honey" Sakura greeted "you're just in time for dinner"

"Welcome home dad" Sarada greeted as Sasuke sat down in the table. Sasuke nodded.

"Do you like tomatoes Sakumo? Your father and sister love them" Sakura said as she placed the food on the table.

"Yes" he replied as they all started eating their dinner. There was silence. Sakumo decided this was as good time as any "erm... Father" he would have to get used to that.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted as he looked at him.

"Mother told me you have something to tell me" he said. Sasuke sighed.

"Straight to the point..." he commented "I did promise you I would tell you about the Mangekyo, didn't I Sarada?" Sarada nodded "that pain you are feeling Sakumo, it;s because of the Mangekyo Sharingan"

"Why?"

"The Mangekyo Sharingan grants the user great power... such as the Amaterasu and the Susano'o, before you awakened the Susano'o Sakumo, you awakened a power in each eye didn't you?" he asked

"Yeah... I ignite the Amaterasu with my left eye, and I can control it with my right one" Sakumo answered.

"Just like your old man" Sasuke told him.

"How do you awaken the Mangekyo?" Sarada spoke up, she didn't have the details.

"I told you the sharingan responds to deep emotion... to awaken the Mangekyo, you have to experience something huge, terrible... to be specific, the death of a loved one"

"I knew it. I awakened mine when my parents died" Sakumo observed. Sasuke nodded.

"And you? Dad?" Sarada asked, looking at him with a very serious expression. Sakura remained silent. This was something her husband had to do by himself, not that she had much to say, anyway.

"When your Uncle Itachi died, that's when I awakened it" that give Sarada some answers, why Sasuke wouldn't talk much about him, he clearly loved him very much and his death greatly affected her father. "Anyway... we were talking about the side effects"

"Side effects?" Sakumo asked.

"Yes. In exchange for great power, the Mangekyo will eventually lose their light" Sarada and Sakumo raised an eyebrow "Long story short, the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan leads to blindness"

"What? You mean I'm blinding?" Sakumo practically yelled.

"Not necessarily. Sakumo, you are already experiencing the side effects. You must not use the Mangekyo Sharingan. Only use it if your life is in danger" he told Sakumo with a very serious expression. Sakumo gulped and nodded.

"But wait..." Sarada caught everyone's attention "dad, I've seen you use it, and I can only imagine how many times you have, why aren't you blind?"

"There is a way to escape the curse. There is such a thing as an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which I have... You need to implant other Mangekyo eyes, ideally your sibling's eyes, to never go blind"

"That's... fucked up..." Sakumo commented.

"You mean... your eyes, are not yours, but Itachi's?" Sarada asked. Sasuke nodded.

"As I said, Itachi died. When I started blinding, I transplanted his eyes, and that's how I got these..."

"Is that why your eye is... purple?" Sakumo asked.

"No" Sasuke answered as he pulled his hair away from his eye and showed it to his son "this is a Rinnegan. The ultimate level of the Sharingan"

"And how do you get that?" Sarada asked him.

"This eye... was given to me by the Sage of the Six Paths, it is not possible for an Uchiha to awaken this without... extremely unlikely circumstances"

"Sage of the Six Paths? What are you talking about?" Sakumo asked. Sarada was simply lost.

"That is something I'll have to tell you some other time. It's a very long story that you wouldn;t understand right now" Sarada sighed. His father was not going beyond that point. There was another silence after that.

"So what would happen if Sarada and I simply swapped eyes? Would none of us go blind?" Sakumo asked.

"Sarada doesn't have the Mangekyo. Anyway, we are talking about last resorts, you don't want to go around experimenting and _swapping eyes_ , eye transplants are a very complicated and nasty procedure, you can ask your mother" the attention was passed to Sakura and she simply nodded "look Sakumo, just don't use the Mangekyo if you can okay? Your eyesight is not suffering much yet and you have the eye drops, stick to good old ninjutsu, for your own sake"

"He can't even use ninjutsu yet" Sarada said with an evil smirk. Sakumo glared.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly that, Sakumo doesn't know how to use ninjutsu. He has superior taijutsu and genjutsu skills, but he can't use ninjutsu!" Sarada answered.

"That is... rich" Sasuke said as a chuckle escaped from him.

"You wouldn't find that funny if you knew that that's the reason he lost to Boruto, honey" Sakura informed him.

"What? You fought Naruto's son and lost?" Sasuke asked him. Sakumo just looked away and Sarada nodded.

"And you know what Boruto used to defeat him dad? He used lightning style on shuriken, I believe you taught him that didn't you?" Sarada added.

"What?" Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. The loser's brat defeated his son with a jutsu he taught him himself? "Unacceptable" he let out. Sasuke would train his son and there would be a rematch "I guess we have to do something about that"

"Yes" Sakumo announced. His mind was made up. His recent fights showed him that he still had a lot to learn. He would have to learn about shinobi, and fight like one... he would never be humiliated by someone like Boruto ever again "I want to become a Hidden Leaf Shinobi" he announced.

Of course, Boruto would be the trigger for this decision. Sakura and Sarada smiled, because he had finally made this decision. Sasuke smirked.

 _To be continued..._

 _Author's note: This chapter has a reference to the novel " **Naruto Jinraiden: The Day The Wolf Howled** " a good read that I cannot recommend enough._


	9. Remains The Same

Two weeks had passed since Sakumo started living with his family in the Hidden Leaf Village. As he made his way to his destination, he couldn't help but pay attention to his feelings. He had just arrived, but for the first time in his life, he felt a sensation that he had never felt. He felt _home_. It was extremely weird and he couldn't quite understand it, but all his life he felt like an outcast, like he never belonged. Here, in the Hidden Leaf Village, it was like he finally got rid of a sensation in his gut that told him he was missing something. Sakumo always felt that he was destined to a life of significance, someone who could change the world. Now, discovering the world of shinobi, he felt like he discovered that _something_ , the tools he needed to achieve his goals.

And then there was also bonding with his family. He found it extremely easy to do so with his mother and sister, his father? Not so much, the fact that he was always working and not very talkative when he did get to see him didn't help so much. Still, he noticed he felt a lot of affection for his new, and real, family. He still felt awkward wearing the Uchiha crest on his back, but he also felt... _pride_. Sakumo was very eager to keep learning about the shinobi world and his own Uchiha clan, and this, was the reason of his current walk.

After declaring he wanted to become a shinobi, his parents got to work and spoke to the Hokage. He wasn't involved in the process for some reason, but apparently, things went well for him. The Hidden Leaf would welcome him and accept him as one of their shinobi, however, he needed to do something first. He would have to pass a written exam, as well as a physical one. His father told him he would need to learn the ways of the shinobi, both theory and practice. That involved studying shinobi history, learning what chakra was and how it works, how to perform ninjutsu... and a lot more things. After this, he would be awarded the rank of genin, or even chunin (his current genjutsu and taijutsu skills even surpassed some chunin he was told) depending on how he did on both these exams. Once he passed, he would officially become a shinobi, join a team and would start going on missions like his sister.

So, Sakumo was taking classes. It was like going back to school ( _sigh..._ ), but it only consisted of him and his teacher, a special teacher just for him, one that could put him on par with the rest of his generation as fast as possible. He finally arrived to his house and knocked.

"Yo" a man with white hair and a mask that kind of hid his bored expression, greeted before letting him in. That's right. Sakumo's teacher was none other than the 6th Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Library**

Sarada had a day off, her father was working and Sakumo had his classes, so she took advantage of this opportunity to do research on the leads she got recently, in order to find out about the things she wasn't told. She woke up early and left the house before her mother woke up, she had to be careful. She found a free computer that was far enough from the librarian, sat down and connected a pen drive that would allow her to go through the library archives without going on the record. It wasn't like Sarada was forbidden from doing these investigations, but a lot of the times she did this, her parents would somehow find out. She could tell it disappointed them and it would bring up awkward conversations, so she had to find a way to do it while avoiding that.

She peeked at the librarian, who was yawning and trying to keep herself awake with coffee. Perfect, she knew going early would be a good idea. So, without wasting anymore time, she thought about what she should start with. She had already researched Itachi and Akatsuki countless times only to come up with no results, so she went with the first name she remembered. She typed. **Danzo**. A shinobi card appeared, she smiled, finally, a search that didn't lead to a "restricted access" window. She opened and started reading.

Danzo Shimura, from the Shimura clan, teammate of the 3rd Hokage, fought in the 1st Great Ninja War... nothing that interested her at the moment. Then something caught her attention. Everything on him went dark, absolutely no information on him after that. Nothing, not even the date of death. Great, another dead end. Next name, she typed **Shisui** , another shinobi card. Her eyes widened, Shisui _Uchiha_ , this man was from her clan, her family. They did talk about his eye right? That made sense. Shisui was a remarkable ninja, had a lot of honors, feared by other villages and known as Shisui "The Teleporter". It was something else that caught Sarada by surprise, **Cause of Death: Suicide**. Why would this man take his own life? She also did the math, Shisui killed himself when her father was around 7 years old. Did he know him? Did that affect him? She was also shocked to find a full file on an Uchiha, every other Uchiha she researched, her uncle, her grandfather, her grandmother... it just listed they were deceased. No date, no cause... nothing. It was huge for her to find an Uchiha from the last generation before the clan went practically extinct, that had a date and cause of death. She kept investigating Shisui, an exemplary ninja, a Hidden Leaf hero. The more she read about him, the less sense his suicide made.

After she read everything she could about Shisui, she typed the next name, **Kisame Hoshigaki**. **Access Restricted**. Sarada sighed. Just one left. **Obito**. Another ninja card. Obito Uchiha. Sarada's eyes widened, this Obito Uchiha was none other Lord 6th 's teammate. But what? Died in the 3rd Great Ninja War? That was impossible. How could Sasuke have possibly known him if he died before her parents were even born?

Sara came here expecting answers, and she was leaving with none, just more questions.

* * *

 _ **17 Years Ago, Hidden Sound Village**_

 _Kakashi Hatake, the Hokage, was resting after a 5 Kage Summit in the Hidden Cloud. They found them pretty exhausting. He decided he would make a stop in Sound on the way back to the Leaf, and meet up with someone who had something for him. Ever since Tenzo, oops, Yamato kept Orochimaru in check, Sound had become a peaceful and prosperous village. It was nice, he liked it here, the restaurant he was currently in had some very good food. He was reading Make Out Tactics, as usual, he simply never got tired of these books, it ashamed him to admit it, but what broke his heart about Jiraiya's death the most was that he would never get a new one. The sound of someone sitting in front of him made him look up, ah, finally, the person he was expecting._

" _Kakashi" Sasuke Uchiha said as their eyes met. Kakashi sighed._

" _You know, I find myself telling my students to not address me too formally, but in your case Sasuke, you should call me at least 'Kakashi-sensei' don't you think?" he scolded._

" _Hn" Sasuke smirked as he handed Kakashi a scroll "A list of names from rogue ninja from the Hidden Frost Village, as promised"_

" _I guess I'll forgive you then" Kakashi sighed as he picked up the scroll. Kakashi couldn't admit it to the public, but Sasuke was easily one of his most important ninja. He was never in the village, but he traveled around the world and kept an eye on the underworld for the Leaf, and gave them huge intel that kept peace possible, dealing with such threats himself, if necessary. Kakashi then noticed the very obvious absence "Where is Sakura?"_

" _She couldn't come" he answered, Kakashi raised his eyebrow demanding details "she's pregnant"_

" _You don't say" Kakashi smirked under his mask "you know that Hinata, Ino and Temari are pregnant too? Did all of you plan this or something?"_

" _The loser is having a child too?" Sasuke asked "Well, we didn't, it's not like we see them much to begin with"_

" _I guess it's destiny" Kakashi deduced. It was very amusing indeed "well, send Sakura my congratulations then"_

" _Sakura..." Sasuke started "We, have something to ask you" he looked nervous, Kakashi was surprised._

" _What is it?"_

" _Do you give us your blessing to name our child Sakumo if it's a boy?" he asked. Kakashi's mouth was wide open, not that anyone could see it._

" _You do" he answered after a long silence "but Sasuke... you are aware of my father's legacy right?" Sasuke nodded "why would you want to name your child Sakumo? You would do the opposite of what my father did"_

" _I don't see it that way" Sasuke answered "The White Fang of the Leaf was a splendid ninja. If he made that call... he would have had some serious reasons to do so" he explained "I believe that Sakumo Hatake was a misunderstood genius, and everyone hated him for it, blamed him when they didn't know better... it almost parallels the Uchiha"_

" _That's an interesting view" Kakashi observed. A view that he also had in his day..._

" _Anyway, this is more of Sakura's idea. She wants to honor you"_

" _I see..." Kakashi was surprised, how far had Sasuke come, making such efforts to grant his wife's wishes, it must have been very brave for Sasuke to ask him this, on his own "You absolutely have my blessing Sasuke. It would be my honor for your and Sakura's child to have my father's name"_

* * *

 **Kakashi Hatake's house**

Kakashi was kind of disappointed to learn that Sasuke and Sakura had a girl. He came to really like the idea of their child having his father's name, it made him feel proud. That disappointment was suddenly gone a few days ago. It turns out Sakumo Uchiha was real, he was 16 years old, and right now he was right there in front of him. When Naruto not only told him about this, but asked him to train the boy if the time came, Kakashi was overwhelmed. After a couple of days to think about it, he agreed. He did miss teaching, and he found himself being bored most days since he retired from the Hokage position. Fate was offering him a chance to amend the mistakes he made as Sasuke's sensei, in the form of training his child, and Sakura's too... it was too good of a chance to pass. So he found himself teaching Sakumo the last two weeks.

Sakumo was the spitting image of his father, and definitely an Uchiha, he had that look in his eyes. But just like with Sarada, Kakashi not only saw the Sasuke in him, but the Sakura, too. Sakumo was a very respectful kid, at least towards him, he heard that his relationship with Boruto was exactly what someone would expect, but with him, Sakumo was very nice. Maybe the facts that he was the Hokage and that he was named after his father could have something to do with that, though. Still, as a student, Sakumo reminded Kakashi a lot more of Sakura than Sasuke, he listened to him with all his attention and was very mindful of what he did, he had inherited the Uchiha's intelligence, but not their arrogance.

"I'm finished" Sakumo announced. Kakashi would give him a written test at the end of every lesson, Sakumo would have to learn a lot in a very short time, so Kakashi had to be strict with him. He picked up the paper and checked his answers. To his lack of surprise, he had a perfect score.

"It looks like you are now an expert in chakra, at least when it comes to the theory of it" he told the boy.

"Thank you, Lord 6th "Sakumo said as he got up.

"Just call me Kakashi-sensei" he sighed.

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei" totally not his father, Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Tomorrow, we'll go over the theory of ninjutsu and chakra natures, but before that..." Kakashi opened the door of his house, Sakumo was surprised to see his father walk in "Your father is going to put the theory we've learned to practice this evening" Kakashi told him. Sasuke glared.

"I have night shift today, I was thinking we could go eat something, and maybe I could teach you your first jutsu, think of it as some father-son time and not training" Sasuke told him.

"Okay" Sakumo nodded "see you tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei" Sakumo bowed before leaving. Kakashi gave Sasuke an amused look, he could read his thoughts _your son is more polite than you_ Sasuke's eyebrow twitched before leaving.

"So..." Sasuke spoke up "do you feel like eating anything in particular?"

"Not really" Sakumo shrugged. Bonding with his son was something that Sasuke found difficult, he hadn't felt this bad since he was in the same situation with Sarada three years ago, even worse, because at least Sarada was somewhat talkative, his son, bery much like himself, was not.

"Do you like barbecue?" Sasuke asked as he spotted the Hidden Leaf's barbecue place.

"Yes" he simply answered before both went inside.

Sasuke cursed himself as he saw who was inside. He should have known.

"Sasuke!" Ino Yamanaka waved "here with your kid huh? Come with us!" she said. She was there with Shikamaru and Choji, with their respective kids. Sasuke sighed and signaled Sakumo to sit with them. Sakura would give him an earful if he dared to be rude to her best friend.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Choji greeted with his mouth full.

"I don't think I've ever seen you here Sasuke, it's our treat" Shikamaru told him as he sat next to him.

"Thank you" Sasuke replied as Sakumo sat with the younger ones.

"Hi! Sakumo right? It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm Ino! Your mom's best friend!" the blonde woman greeted. Sakumo nodded. She was definitely _short sword_ 's mother, both were almost as pale as that Mitsuki guy.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara, Lord 7th's assitant" the man with pineapple hair said, his son, Shikadai he remembered, was playing a videogame and just grunted, his father sighed.

"And I'm Choji Akimichi! My daughter Chocho here is your sister's best friend!" the fat man said. His daughter, whose skin was black to the shock of Sakumo, just stared at him.

"We've already met..." the girl said with a blush. Ino laughed.

"Uchihas and their gift with the ladies right?" she said "you know Sakumo, I would have caught your father here if your mother hadn't beat me to it" she stuck her tongue out. This made Sasuke very uncomfortable, Sasuke could tell.

"Are you always going to hit on me when my wife and your husband are not around?" Sasuke asked.

"You bet" she winked. Everyone could tell that she didn't mean it and did it just to get on Sasuke's nerves, who just grunted and pretended like he didn't see that.

"Just grab whatever you want from the center Sakumo, that's how it works here" Choji told him. Sakumo nodded and did so.

"So Sakumo, Naruto tells me Kakashi is training you to become a shinobi" Shikamaru said after a brief silence.

"Yes" he answered. Shikadai paused his game.

"You're training with Lord 6th?" he asked.

"I feel sorry for you" Inojin spoke.

"Why?" Sakumo asked.

"Well... the experience we've had with him... hasn't been nice. He's super strict" Shikadai answered. Sakumo smirked.

"He is, not a problem for me"

"He's doing well, he is an Uchiha after all" Sasuke smirked as well. Ino giggled at seeing the two.

"I hope you're not as arrogant as your father Sakumo, we couldn't stand him back in the day because of it. I doubt these squirts here will be any different" Shikamaru told him.

"Well he did get on Boruto's nerves doing just that" Shikadai said.

"Yeah,you were kind of a dick the other day" Inojin told him.

"Of course you would think that _short sword_ " Sakumo teased. Sasuke smirked at him, and Sakumo smirked back at his father.

"Please make an effort and try to be friends with Inojin here Sakumo, me and your mom are like sisters, after all" Ino tried.

"He's not off to a good start" Inojin pouted.

"I won't be too much of an asshole if you want me to, but it's kind of my charm" Sakumo shrugged.

"At least he's honest about it" Shikamaru laughed.

They ate with the Ino-Shika-Cho families and they chatted for an hour so. It was actually kind of fun, Sasuke realized. He was surprised to see that Sakumo was actually very open to talking with the rest and he didn't completely close himself off much like he would have done at his age. He was actually happy for him, Sasuke wanted Sakumo to be a normal kid and have friends, like his sister.

"Sakumo and I should go" Sasuke announced.

"Alright then, it's been fun, let's do it again some time" Choji smiled. Sasuke and Sakumo got up and made their way to the door.

"See ya Sakumo! And Sasuke!..." she mouthed call me and made a gesture with her hand. Sasuke sweatdropped.

"Don't tell your mother about Ino's... _flirting_ , she could get mad" Sasuke told his son.

"She's obviously just messing with you" Sakumo answered.

"I know... but still"

"So where are we going now?" Sakumo changed the subject.

"Do you want to learn your first jutsu then?"

"Sure" Sakumo answered as they walked.

* * *

 **Pond near the Uchiha Clan House**

"This is a very special place" Sasuke said as both stood on a small bridge facing the pond "this is where my father taught me this technique, which I'm passing down to you" Sakumo nodded "this is the Uchiha clan's signature jutsu, I guess you could call it a coming of age tradition"

"Which one is it?" Sakumo asked.

"Watch" Sasuke formed his hand into what Sakumo had learned to be the tiger seal.

 _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_

Sasuke spit a fireball out of his mouth that covered the entire pond.

"Wow" Sakumo stared in awe.

"Give it a try" Sasuke said as he stood back and let Sakumo stand where he was. Sakumo made the tiger handseal "not so fast now" he interrupted "this is your first time so I'll guide you through it" _I probably would have done it perfectly the first time as well if father did this with me_ Sasuke thought "First off, you will need to form a couple of more handseals, I can do it with only one because of experience"

"Okay" Sakumo gulped.

"Alright, once you perform the hand seals, I want you to take a deep breath, you will feel a burning like sensation in your chest, once you have taken a big breath, and I mean a big one, just spit it out" he instructed "ready?"

"Yes"

"Good. I assume you learned all the handseals with Kakashi?" Sakumo nodded "Very well then. Snake" Sakumo made the snake seal "Tiger. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger. Now take the deep breath and release"

A massive fireball came out of Sakumo's mouth, it wasn't just as big as Sasuke's, but it was big enough, nonetheless. Sakumo was surprised at his own self. He couldn't believe he just spit fire out of his mouth like that. And on his very first try.

"Now then. That's my boy" Sasuke didn't even realize that escaped from his mouth. Seeing his son do that, he was taken back to when he was 7 and he was on his place.

"Thanks... father" Sakumo said. Sasuke was embarrassed for a moment but he regained his composure.

"That was impressive, just a little more practice and you will be able to do one as big as mine" Sasuke smiled.

"So that's all there is to ninjutsu? It was kind of easy"

"Don't get too cocky now"

"Can you teach me more?" Sakumo asked him.

"That is the plan. Are you familiar with chakra natures?" Sasuke asked him.

"Just the basics, I guess"

"Good enough. Chakra nature is usually determined with a special kind of paper, but since you have just started learning ninjutsu, I was thinking we could find out what yours is by doing a simple jutsu of each one"

"Wouldn't my chakra nature be fire considering what I just did?"

"Fire style runs through your blood, every Uchiha has a natural affinity to it, however, your personal chakra nature might be different, mine for example, is lightning"

"Okay"

"Oh, and now that I remember and thankfully you didn't do it before, I know you might be thinking of using your sharingan to just copy a jutsu when I use it. Don't. It goes against your best interests"

"I didn't even consider it to be honest"

"Good, let's start with this one" Sasuke started off with a very simplified version of the chidori "let's see if you are a lightning type like your father and sister" he said as a blue flash of electricity appeared on his hand. Sakumo recognized it as the technique his sister used on him.

Sakumo nodded and repeated after his father. Only a brief spark appeared on his hand.

"Not a lightning type huh..." Sasuke observed "let's try another one then, water" Sasuke performed a couple of handseals and there was a wave in the water pond. Sakumo followed suit and the result was the same as before "so not water, either, maybe you're just a true fire type" Sasuke instructed Sakumo to follow him and they stepped down from the bridge and got on earth for the next one. Sasuke raised a wall from the ground. He instructed Sakumo to do the same.

 _Earth Style: Mud Wall!_

Sakumo raised a wall even bigger than Sasuke's. _Of course,_ Sasuke thought, _Sakura's chakra nature is earth, so he inherited it_.

"Looks like earth is your chakra nature" Sasuke declared.

"Earth huh?" Sakumo said as he looked at the earth wall he just raised from the ground.

"Your mother's is earth as well, maybe she should teach you a couple of earth jutsus" Sakumo nodded "anyway, let's try a wind jutsu, you never know"

Sasuke taught Sakumo the handseals for the last jutsu.

 _Wind Style: Vaccum Bullet!_

Sakumo spit out an air current that landed on a tree. It wasn't quite as powerful as the jutsus Sakumo showed an affinity for, but it wasn't as weak as the other two. It was okay in power.

"Would you look at that... You have an affinity for wind style as well" Sasuke said.

"So I have three chakra natures?"

"Earth and Fire are your dominant elements, but if you work on Wind you may be able to use it as naturally as the other two" Sasuke answered. It turns out that Sakumo had fire to counter Boruto's wind, earth to counter his water and wind to counter his lightning, nature itself wanted these two to be rivals. Sasuke smirked.

"So you can't teach me anything more than fire style?" Sakumo asked.

"Who said I'm only teaching you ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked "I hear you have a thing for kenjutsu" Sakumo nodded "I'll teach you how do it like a shinobi"

"And what's the difference?" Sakumo asked.

"First things first, let's go get you a sword"

* * *

 **Tamaki's restaurant**

"Sasuke" Tamaki greeted as father and son entered "Oh, you must be Sakumo! Nice to meet you, I'm Tamaki!" Sakumo was surprised, this was a restaurant? Then what's with all the cats?

"Tamaki has been a friend of the Uchiha since... forever, she comes from the clan that has provided our clan with our weaponry for generations" Sasuke explained. Sakumo nodded.

"So I assume you didn't come here to eat" Tamaki said.

"No. My son here is looking for a sword" Tamaki sighed.

"Alright, follow me" she instructed as they went to the back of the restaurant. They went down some stairs and Tamaki pushed a brick, the wall opened and Sakumo saw a room full of weapons.

"Well look who it is" a voice said. Sakumo scanned the room only to notice that voice came from below.

"Been a while Sasuke, who is this?" Sakumo saw two cats. Two _talking_ cats.

"Denka, Hina, this is Sakumo, my son" Sasuke answered.

"You have a son?" one of the cats asked as the other smelled Sakumo.

"He definitely smells like Sasuke, and the smell of that pink haired wife of his as well... he smells a bit nastier than Sarada though" the other cat who was smelling him said. Sakumo's eyebrow twitched.

"They're ninja cats" Tamaki explained as she saw Sakumo's confusion "they're nice, if you don't get on their bad side"

"That's right, you know the rules Sasuke, no treats, no weapons" the cat hissed.

"Here" Sasuke said as he took something out of his jacket and gave it to them, the cats took it and disappeared.

"It wasn't the ninja part what freaked me out, it's the fact that they can _speak_ " Sakumo said after being dumbfounded.

"Right" Tamaki laughed "well they can, you will come here often so try to get along with them" Sakumo nodded "anyway, what kind of sword are you looking for?"

"You're the one that brought me here" Sakumo looked at his father.

"Just give him a katana like mine, it's a start"

"Okay" Tamaki looked and took out three swords "pick the one you like the best" Sakumo picked one up, he didn't quite like how the hilt felt, he gave that one back and one with a red hilt caught his attention, he picked that one up and took it out of the scabbard, it gave a very nice shine that captivated him, it felt right.

"This one" he said.

"Good choice" Tamaki said before putting the other two back in their place.

"Consider this sword your father's first gift" Sasuke said.

"Thanks, father" he said as he put the sword back on the scabbard and put it behind his back with the thread it had.

"Alright then" Tamaki said as they got out of the room and the wall closed behind them "by the way Sakumo, this place is a secret that only your father, your sister, you and I know about, you can't tell anyone else" Tamaki said as they went up the stairs.

"I won't tell anyone" Sakumo answered.

"Well, I have to head to Police HQ" Sasuke announced.

"Is that so? I was hoping you could stay and have dinner" Tamaki answered.

"I'm sorry but I have a night shift today" he explained.

"Will you stay Sakumo? I want to get to know you. Come on, dinner's on the house" Tamaki offered.

"Well... okay" Sakumo agreed, two free meals on the same day, he couldn;t decline the offer.

"Great" Tamaki smiled.

"Well, I'm off, you'll like Tamaki, she's a good woman" Sasuke said as he and Sakumo stepped outside.

"Okay. Thank you for today, I really enjoyed myself" Sakumo said.

"We'll do it again some other time" Sasuke said as he poked his forehead and left. Sakumo learned these weeks that this was the way the family expressed affection. Some gave kisses, others gave hugs, the Uchihas poked foreheads.

"So Sakumo, tell me a bit about yourself" Tamaki said as Sakumo came back inside and sat down.

"Well..." he always hated this question, what does _a bit about yourself_ mean anyway? "I come from the Land of Water... and I have been an official Uchiha for a couple of weeks, I don't know what you want me to say"

"Right, you're an Uchiha, I'll have to the introduction and small talk" Tamaki laughed.

"I have known your father since we were little kids, I also knew your uncle and grandparents" she started "my family didn't actually live in the Hidden Leaf"

"And why did you move here?"

"My husband. Kiba Inuzuka, you know him?" Sakumo shook his head "well... your father and him don't get along very well, I actually don't know how they can work together so efficiently, they're like cats and dogs... literally" Sakumo raised an eyebrow "you see, my husband is from the Inuzuka clan, they are famous for using dogs as companions"

"Dogs? Then what's with all the cats in here?" Sakumo asked.

"Yeah, I'm a cat person, he's a dog person, opposites attract each other, I guess" she smiled "do you like cats?"

"I don't know, I used to have a dog, so I'm a dog person too I guess?"

"Maybe you'll like Kiba then" she smiled, a cat started purring as it rubbed itself with Sakumo's leg "maybe you're a cat person too, that cat likes you and you look like a natural" she said as Sakumo rubbed the cat's head.

"I do like animals" he answered.

"That's good, oh by the way, the ninja cats, they're like the guardians of the weapons room here, if you want to get a weapon from here, make sure to bring a treat for them, ask your father later" she informed him.

"Hn" he said as the cat left him alone. The door opened and he saw a girl, about his age, walk inside.

"I'm back mom!" the girl said.

"Oh hello Wasabi! How was the mission?"

"Piece of cake" she answered before staring at Sakumo "who's this?"

"Oh, Wasabi, this is Sakumo Uchiha, Sakumo, this is my daughter, Wasabi Inuzuka" she said before excusing herself and picking up the finished dishes.

"Oh, so you're the new Uchiha boy, I guess it was a matter of time before I saw you here" she said "nice to meet you"

"Likewise" he replied.

"You really do look like Sarada's twin brother" she said as she sat in front of him.

"You know Sarada?"

"Of course, we've been friends since the academy"

"So you are Sarada's friend? I feel like I should have seen you already" Sakumo pointed out.

"I've been away for a month in the Hidden Sand on a mission"

"You're a shinobi too?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Not yet, I have to pass some exams first"

"Since you just got here, it makes sense I guess" she said "so, I've been told you had an incident with Boruto"

"How? You just got here"

"You're big news Sakumo, not to mention that Boruto is talking shit about you all over the place"

"What?"

"Yeah, Boruto is like the most popular kid in town, and if you get on his bad side... well, you'll see, You do have balls, I guess I have to hand that to you" now it made sense why Boruto made his alarm go off. He was like the typical popular kid in school, and god, did he fucking hate those people.

"Like I care" he simply replied.

"Aren't you tough" she mocked and laughed.

"Boruto is an idiot with a big ego and I will put him in his place some day" Sakumo replied.

"Now that, is something I would like to see" she smiled.

"Anyway, I should go home" Sakumo said as he got up.

"Yeah, it's past dinner time and if I know Sarada's mom she's worried sick about you"

"I guess I'll see you around" Sakumo smirked.

"Sure" she smiled back and watched Sakumo leave, she turned and noticed her mother smiling from the kitchen.

"You two would make a very cute couple" she said.

"Mom!" Wasabi blushed.

"Come on! He's handsome isn't he?" Tamaki said as Wasabi stormed out.

 _ **Author's note:** Yes. I went ahead and made Wasabi Kiba's and Tamaki's daughter. Because honestly, why isn't she in canon? You know you're asking yourself the same question._

 _Is she also Sakumo's potential romance? We'll see._


	10. Taka

**Uchiha Clan House**

"I'm back!" Sakura announced as she got back home from work. She got no response. "Wouldn't kill you to greet me back" she sighed. As she made her way to the kitchen she saw Sakumo lying face down in the couch of the living room. He had been nearly a month training with Kakashi, so she could understand his exhaustion. She assumed her husband must have been sleeping as well since he had a night shift the day before, and if Sarada didn't answer, that must have meant she was out. Sakura started putting the food she bought in the fridge.

"Do you need some help?" her son asked her, now awake and standing next to her.

"That would be very nice" she smiled.

Sakumo was adapting to his family very quickly, it warmed Sakura's heart that he had only been living with them for over a month and it was like he had been living with them all his life. It was a small gesture but Sakura knew first hand what it really meant for an Uchiha to offer himself for things like this, things remained unspoken but she could already tell that Sakumo had accepted her as his mother and was showing her his affection with these actions that would mean practically nothing for anyone else. It went both ways. Sakura loved her son with all her heart, just as much as Sarada even if she had raised her and had 16 years with her that she didn't have with him. It was one of those moments when Sakura felt like hugging him, but she had to restrain herself and give him some space. Sakumo was even more of a.. well, an _Uchiha_ than Sarada. Sakura cracked down long ago the mystery behind Sasuke's, or an Uchiha for that matter, antisocial behaviour. Uchihas were naturally shy. She was shy as a child as well, so it was only natural that her children would be the same way. Since she raised Sarada, she made sure that Sarada would beat her insecurities and get over her shyness the normal way. With Sakumo, well, she didn't get the chance so Sakumo turned out just like his father. To someone as proud and stubborn as Uchiha boys tended to be, shyness is a weakness, and _they don't have weaknesses,_ so instead of coming out of their shell like every other shy kid, they build a wall around themselves and replace their shyness (weakness) with an _I'm too cool for you_ attitude (strength). That also leads to their infamous arrogance. She was actually kind of surprised Sakumo was _a lot_ more social than his father at his age. Noticing that she was psychoanalyzing her son, _thank you Ino_ , she decided she would break the silence.

"So, how's training with Kakashi going?"

"Better, I'm getting used to the intensity. I can actually keep myself awake after the sessions" he replied. Sakumo passed his written exam, with a perfect score, just a couple of weeks after his classes. Now, Kakashi was training him to be physically fit to be a shinobi. Kakashi could be pretty brutal, she was proud that Sakumo was actually managing with relative ease.

"That's great. The physical exam should be pretty soon right?" she asked

"Sooner than I think he says, whatever the hell that means" he shrugged as he put the last thing on the fridge. Sakura nodded, knowing Kakashi, that could mean tomorrow or a month from now. Oh well, she was confident Sakumo would ace the exam no matter when it was.

"So you're not feeling tired now?" she asked, Sakumo shook his head "good, maybe I could teach you more earth style techniques" she offered.

"Sure" Sakumo agreed before they left the house.

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

Before Sakura and Sakumo reached their destination, they ran into three familiar faces who were leaving. Sakumo's eyes rolled. _Not him again_.

"Hinata!" Sakura greeted her friend with a hug.

"Hello Sakura" she greeted back. She turned her attention to Sakumo. "You must be Sakumo, it's nice to finally meet you"

"Hello" he said, this woman looked just like the woman she fought before getting here, those weird white eyes.

"I'm Hinata, Naruto's wife, this is my daughter Himawari" Sakumo looked at the younger girl, who waved with a smile, she had her mother's hair, but her brother's face, those weird whiskers ran in the family it seems, they looked kind of odd in a girl "and well, I hear you've already met Boruto"

"Asshole" Boruto said as he looked away and put his arms behind his head.

"Douchebag" Sakumo responded putting his hands in his pockets. Hinata and Sakura sweatdropped. They already had insults for each other much like their fathers at the peak of their rivalry.

"So what are you doing here?" Sakura tried to bring the conversation back to a friendly vibe.

"Himawari's chunin exams are coming up and Boruto had the day off, so I'm giving them a couple of pointers for their visual prowess" Hinata explained "Hanabi usually does it since she's a better teacher, but she's out on a mission"

"It's not that aunt Hanabi is a better teacher, it's just that you go too easy on us, mom" Himawari spoke up.

"Oh right, you've already met Hanabi" Hinata said as she noticed the change in Sakumo's expression once he heard the name. Sakumo didn't know what to say. _I almost killed your sister._ Awkward. "don't worry about it, we're shinobi, it happens, she's fine and she doesn't hold any grudge towards you" Hinata told him, as if she was reading his thoughts. Sakumo simply nodded "so what brings you over here?" she asked

"Pretty much the same, really. Sakumo has an exam coming up to graduate as a shinobi, so I'm teaching him a couple of things" Sakura answered.

"Medical ninjutsu?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, no. You see, Sakumo is an earth style user"

"Earth style?" Boruto asked.

"Yeah" Sakumo smirked, he could already tell that Boruto was annoyed that his water tricks would no longer work on him.

"Well, we should be leaving anyway" Hinata said as both boys glared at each other.

"Yeah..." Sakura agreed, their rivalry was honestly a bit too intense for the women there "We'll see you soon" she waved. Sakumo observed them as they left. He was actually surprised, Hinata and Himawari were very polite and sweet, almost the total opposite of Boruto "I guess that old habits die hard..." Sakura commented "can't you boys be nice to each other for once?"

"Doubt it" he answered. Sakura sighed.

"Anyway, let's get to work. So, any jutsu in mind you want to learn?" she asked. Sakumo shrugged.

"Earth style is kind of boring, I wish I could do the lightning thing like father and Sarada" he said. Sakura sighed again. Everyone who saw the chidori wanted to use it.

"Boring you say" she smirked "Sakumo, look around you" Sakumo raised an eyebrow "earth is _everywhere_ , unlike lightning, earth doesn't drain your chakra as much since you can use the environment to your advantage"

"Fair enough, but isn't there something.. _cooler_ than raising walls, throwing rocks or hide underground?"

"As a matter of fact, there is" she said "does creating earthquakes and earth dragons that chase your opponent sound _cool_ enough for you?"

"Well yeah. That. I want to do that"

"Such big jutsu require precise chakra control, something I'm afraid you didn't take after me and you;re not at that level yet"

"How can I get better then?"

"Let's see" Sakura put her finger on her lips, thinking, Sakumo was already competent enough in climbing trees and walking on water "I got it. You have gotten pretty good at the fireball jutsu right?" she asked. Sakumo nodded "you can try this" Sakura said before weaving handsigns. A small flame came out of her mouth, she told Sakumo with her eyes to watch and she gradually increased its size to a massive fireball that eclipsed everything in Sakumo's line of sight "once you can manipulate the fireball jutsu's size like that you should have a decent level of chakra control to learn those" she explained.

"You can use fire style too?" Sakumo asked, his mother grinned "I thought your chakra natures were earth and water"

"Yeah, well I got fire style after Sasuke and I..." she started blushing. Sakumo learned what made his mother blush and an idea flashed through his head.

"Does that mean I can get lightning if I have sex with a woman who...?" Sakura's face turned as pink as her hair and she smacked her son before he could finish.

"Sakumo Uchiha! Did Kakashi teach you how to be a pervert too!?"

"No!" he said as he rubbed his head, his mother could get way too scary when angered.

"I meant when I became pregnant with you! Your father didn't _sexually transmit_ fire affinity to me! My body developed it when gestating Uchiha life!" she yelled.

"Oh"

"Yeah. Oh" she calmed down "I swear... Start practicing and let's just forget about _this_ "

"Ok" Sakumo nodded and performed a fireball jutsu. Way too big. He looked at his mother, she just gestured to try again. He managed to create a small flame, but when making it bigger he couldn't do it gradually and it grew too quickly. Again.

After his fifth try, a noise coming from where Sakura was caught his attention, his eyes widened as he saw his mother throwing up.

"Mother!" he rushed to her side. He noticed she lost consciousness. He didn't think twice,he picked her up and rushed to the hospital.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"Where have you been?" Sasuke asked as he came from upstairs after taking a shower and saw Sarada sitting in the kitchen.

"Out with Cho Cho" she lied. She was actually visiting Shisui's and Obito's graves. She was still investigating, and she just couldn't find anything.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted as he sat down next to her, poured himself a cup of coffee and started reading the newspaper. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Sarada said before getting up and heading towards the entrance.

"Hi there! Is Sasuke home?" a man asked as she opened the door. White hair. Pointy teeth. Sarada's fist swung towards him before she even realized it was acting on its own. To her shock, his head just _liquified_ after her fist collided with his face.

"What the hell" Suigetsu said as his head regenerated "why do girls have a thing for punching me in the face?" Sarada blinked once and regained her composure.

"That's for making me think my mom wasn't my mom you bastard" she told him. A female laughter behind Suigetsu caught her attention.

"You deserve it" the red haired woman spoke.

"Karin!" Sarada greeted.

"How are you doing Sarada?" Karin smiled. She would have hugged her god-daughter, but she only met her once, after all.

"I'm good!" she answered "what are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"We came to see Sasuke, is he here?" a tall man with orange hair spoke up.

"What is going on here?" Sasuke's voice spoke behind Sarada "It's you guys" he said as he saw the three people outside "come on in"

"Sasuke!" Karin ran to hug him. Sasuke was taken aback and didn't return it.

"Sasuke.." Jugo greeted as he crouched a bit since he was taller than the door.

"Jugo" Sasuke nodded.

"Hello to you too man, long time no see" Suigetsu grinned as he punched his shoulder "would you look at this? You finally got a left arm!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Ignoring Suigetsu, as usual.

"Long story" Karin said as she adjusted her glasses "first things first, we were interrogated about _that_ day" she explained.

"We had nothing to do with it and we were cleared by your people, so quit glaring at us" Suigetsu spoke up.

"Any idea how this could happen Sasuke?" Jugo asked him.

"I was actually hoping you could provide more answers than us" he answered.

"Well shit, this is just crazy" Suigetsu whistled.

"Did the people who interrogated you tell you anything? Do they have any leads?"

"We're not exactly _liked_ here. They told us nada. Treated us like criminals" Suigetsu complained

"You kind of are, aren't you working for Orochimaru?" Sarada spoke up.

"Not anymore" Jugo answered,

"What?" Sasuke rose an eyebrow.

"Like I said, it's a long story that we'll have to explain over dinner or something" Karin said "first things first, where are Sakura and my god-son who I just found out about?"

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Hospital**

"Sakura" Sakura opened her eyes to see Shizune looking at her.

"Where... am I?"

"Good, you're awake" Shizune smiled "you're in the hospital, you passed out"

"Oh..." Sakura gasped as she remembered what happened "Shizune... is it what I think it is?"

"Yes... Congratulations Sakura, you're pregnant" Shizune beamed.

"I am?" Sakura smiled. Finally! She and Sasuke had been trying for months "Wait! Where's Sakumo?" she remembered.

"He brought you here, you should have seen him, he was so worried about you. He's just outside. Do you want him to come in?" she asked. Sakura nodded and Shizune exited the room. Sakura was so... happy. Another child.

"Mother! Are you alright?" Sakumo entered the room.

"I'm fine Sakumo, don't worry" she calmed him down. It was the first time she saw her son worried, as a matter of fact.

"Then what happened?"

"Sit" she told him gesturing the chair beside her bed. She took his hand "It's good news. Sakumo" she smiled "You're going to be an elder brother"

"What?" Sakumo couldn't believe it. He stared at his mother, then at her stomach, and switched back and forth a couple of times. He couldn't believe it. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was alone, now he had a family, and a new person of his own flesh and blood was on the way.

"Mom!" a voice interrupted. Sarada rushed in "what happened?" she demanded. Sakura saw her husband walk in after her. And three more people walked in after them.

"Karin? Jugo? Suigetsu? What on earth are you doing here?" she was shocked.

"We heard you were in the hospital and came as fast as we could, did something happen?" Karin asked as she hugged her friend. She did what she was used to do and scanned Sakura's chakra, she instantly noticed a second chakra in her body, she smiled at Sakura and she simply smiled back.

"I'm just fine, don't worry, I didn't know so many people cared about me" she laughed.

"So" Suigetsu said as he spotted an unfamiliar face "you must be Sakumo"

"Yes... who are you people?"

"We are old friends of your parents, we were actually with them the day you were born. My name is Karin, I'm technically your god-mother" Karin smiled at him "the tall guy is Jugo and the idiot with a loud mouth is Suigetsu"

"Suigetsu? Suigetsu Hozuki?" Sakumo stared at the man with the sharp teeth.

"You know me?"

"Not in person, just heard things about you"

"Oh right! I heard you were in Shark Village, I assume people still love me over there?" Suigetsu grinned.

"Some do, I guess" Sarada stared at her brother. Of course. She couldn't believe she forgot. Her own brother lived in Shark Village, heard stories about Kisame, Itachi and the Akatsuki. Maybe he knew something that could break the dead end she was stuck in.

"Can all of you shut up and get the hell out of here? Something happened to my wife" Sasuke spoke up, with a pissed off tone.

"Relax Sasuke, she's fine" Karin answered, she looked at Sakura looking for her blessing to break out the news, Sakura nodded "your wife is pregnant"

"What?" he looked at Sakura "are you serious?" Sakura smiled and nodded. Sasuke simply hugged Sakura.

"Great, yet _another_ Uchiha" Suigetsu sighed.

"You idiot" Karin scolded him before dragging him out of the room, Jugo followed them.

"You're pregnant mom?" Sarada asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes Sarada. You're going to be a big sister"

"About time" she exclaimed. She knew her parents were having sex more than usual and there had to be a reason for it. Still, she was so happy, for them, and for her. A baby sibling! She couldn't wait.

"Anyway, not that I don't enjoy the spotlight, but we should stop making a show here in the hospital and go home" Sakura said.

"Shizune didn't say you could leave" Sasuke said.

"Honey, I'm pregnant, not injured" she stood up anyway. She forgot how overprotective Sasuke was the last time she was pregnant. Joy.

"She's fine Sasuke. No reason for you to worry about her or the baby, let her breathe a little" Shizune said as she reappeared. Sakura stuck her tongue out to Sasuke and broke free from his grasp. Sasuke glared "anyway, both of you have been summoned by Lord 7th"

"Why?" Sasuke demanded.

"No idea" Shizune shrugged.

"Well, let's go honey" Sakura said as she got out of the room "Sarada, Sakumo, go home, we'll be right there" she told her children.

As their parents left, Sarada and Sakumo walked through the streets of the Hidden Leaf.

"A little sibling... isn't that great?" Sarada spoke up.

"Yeah..." Sakumo answered. Sarada looked at him, it was the first time she saw any glimpse of _happiness_ on his face. She grinned. After a couple of minutes of silence, Sarada remembered what she thought about earlier.

"You heard stories about Suigetsu?" she asked.

"Yeah, just things about him being a candidate to be one of the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist. Why?"

"Did you ever hear something about a man named Kisame Hoshigaki? Or the Akatsuki?"

"Yes"

"And?"

"I know where you are going with this. You want to know about that because our uncle Itachi had something to do with it" he said. Sarada stared "I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you"

"What? Why?"

"Listen, I have heard very different and vague things about the Akatsuki. Some think they were the lowest scum imaginable. Others think they were heroes. All I know is that the Akatsuki is a very delicate subject. Those who know anything concrete about them, won't talk and will take that information to their graves"

"And don't you want to find out? In case you haven't noticed, everyone is hiding things from us. Itachi and the Akatsuki are just two of them"

"Of course I do"

"Then let's find out, together. Mom and Dad will try to stop us, so we have to work in secret"

"Sounds like a plan" Sakumo agreed after a couple of silent seconds.

* * *

 **Hokage's Office**

"Shizune told me" Naruto grinned as he saw his two best friends walk in "I'm so happy for you guys! Congratulations!"

"Thank you Naruto" Sakura smiled as she sat down.

"To think that just a couple of weeks ago I had 2 kids and you had 1, now you have 3. Crazy world we live in, ya'know!"

"What do you want" Sasuke demanded.

"I'm your best friend Sasuke, let me be happy for you will ya?" Naruto pouted.

"Did you summon us here just to congratulate us?" Sakura asked.

"I wish" Naruto changed his expression.

"This better be an update about what happened with Sakumo" Sasuke said.

"Actually, no" he raised his hand before any of them protested "Yes, we are still investigating, yes, there has been progress and no, still can't tell you anything" Sasuke and Sakura just grunted in frustration "however, this does have something to with it, in some way"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Karin. Suigetsu. Jugo. I have to ask you something. Do you vouch for them?"

"Why are you asking us this?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I just need you to answer that right now, we'll go over the details after that"

"Yes, I do" Sakura answered.

"Sasuke?" Naruto looked at his former rival.

"Yes" he simply answered.

"Good" he pushed a button in his intercom "Shikamaru, send them in" the rest of team Taka walked into the office.

"What's going on here?" Sasuke asked.

"Starting from today, they will be living in the Hidden Leaf"

"Unacceptable, you know damn well Yamato is not enough-" Sasuke said before Naruto cut him off.

"They have been keeping tabs on Orochimaru, the Five Great Nations are very grateful" he turned his attention to team Taka "you have done a splendid job, but that's the problem" he looked back at Sasuke and Sakura "Orochimaru is gone"

"What do you mean gone?" Sakura asked.

"Gone. No trace of him. He's disappeared. Not even Mitsuki knows what happened to him" Naruto informed.

"Dead?" Sasuke spoke up.

"Doubt it" Jugo answered.

"Are you saying Orochimaru has something to do with Sakumo?" Sakura asked.

"Not necessarily. However, the timing is a coincidence we can't afford to ignore. Maybe. We don't know. We'll find out eventually"

"So why are you coming here instead of looking for him?" Sasuke asked.

"We sent someone to question them about the Sakumo incident... things got tangled... long story short, if Orochimaru is alive and well, he will have most definitely found out that they are _your_ moles"

"To sum up Sasuke, we're stuck with you again" Suigetsu told him.

"Besides, we have another reason to come to the Hidden Leaf" Karin announced.

"Which is" Sasuke demanded.

"The Uzumaki clan is growing" Naruto grinned.

"Karin...? You too...?" Sakura caught on.

"Yeah..." she blushed.

"What? Who?" Sasuke asked. Jugo and Karin looked at Suigetsu, who put his arms behind his head.

"You're fucking kidding me" Sasuke exclaimed in disbelief. Sakura started laughing "Now? Seriously? Now?"

"I win" Sakura grinned. Now it was the other 4 people in the room who were missing something.

"So he knocked her up, it doesn't mean they are together" Sasuke responded.

"We're actually married" Suigetsu announced.

"God damn it" Sasuke complained as he took out his wallet and handed money to Sakura.

"I can't believe you didn't invite us to the wedding, or tell us anything, for that matter" Sakura complained.

"Yeah you are one to talk. Hello Karin! Long time no see! This is my wife Sakura, who I married in secret!" Karin mocked Sasuke.

"Forget that, what was that money about?" Suigetsu demanded.

"Sasuke and I made a bet long ago that you two would eventually end up together. It was so obvious, of course I won"

"Obvious? We were living together for more than a decade and nothing happened!" Karin defended herself.

"Sasuke's exact argument" Sakura grinned.

"Anyway, not that I don't find this amusing, but you guys can catch up somewhere that's not the Hokage's office" Naruto interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry Naruto, let's go have dinner at our house" Sakura said as she got up.

"Speaking of bets Sasuke, ours does not count, I didn't realize Sakumo and Boruto wouldn't share a team" Naruto stopped him once the others were out if the office.

"Loser" Sasuke smirked as he left. Sakura kept teasing Suigetsu and Karin, Jugo, always the silent man, just followed.

"Bastard" Naruto growled.

"So?" Naruto spoke up once they were long gone.

"Nothing suspicious, I think I can clearly say they're innocent" Kakashi Hatake announced as he appeared out of nowhere.

"I see... any theories?"

"My guess? A powerful genjutsu we don't even know about, which would make the Kotoamatsukami look like childsplay"

"And who could have such a jutsu in their power?"

"Not sure. I'll keep looking into it. But I don't like this, not one bit"

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed. A huge threat was lurking somewhere. Plus, this Orochimaru stuff? Not good. Not good at all. This was easily the most difficult thing he had to deal with as Hokage.

"Sakumo's doing great by the way, he should take the exam soon. I have no doubt he will have a chunin grade"

"And what do you suggest for the physical exam?"

"Oh, you will love this..."

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"Married. You seriously married him, Karin" Sarada stated in shock as they were having dinner.

"Sarada I'm practically your uncle, and I said I'm very sorry, will you please forgive me for the DNA thing?" Suigetsu pouted.

"No" she declared.

"You are such an idiot Suigetsu, I'm pretty sure I told you that was Sakura's" Karin scolded.

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot" he said. Karin blushed.

"Awwww" Sakura let out.

"Anyway why would you think Karin was our mother?" Sakumo spoke up.

"Because of the glasses" Sarada answered.

"So? Plenty of people need glasses"

"I have Uchiha eyes! One would think I wouldn't need glasses!"

"That's a misconception. You have the sharingan, not the byakugan. You can still need glasses with a sharingan, plenty of Uchiha have needed glasses. It's the byakugan the one that gives you perfect distance eyesight" Sasuke explained.

"Whatever" Sarada folded her arms.

"Oh hey! Since it's about glasses, maybe Kabuto was their real mother!?" Suigetsu joked.

"Kabuto's a man" Jugo added.

"Yeah, but with that body he has? I think he could totally give birth with it" Suigetsu explained. The adults started laughing, even Sasuke who let out a chuckle. Sakumo and Sarada didn't get it.

"Kabuto is a man who _modified_ his body to creepy extents, kids" Sakura explained.

"Is it true he's taking care of the Shin clones?" Karin asked.

"Yes, it is" Sasuke confirmed "which reminds me, maybe I should take you two to spar against them, their sharingan is a failed imitation, but it should make a good challenge"

"They are innocent boys Sasuke, you have to stop hating them so much" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You are an Uchiha, Sakura, you should view those genetic aberrations as an insult" Sasuke told her.

"Not even with an Uchiha growing inside me, I just can't bring myself to be so angry at petty things" she joked.

"We're going to be mommies together Sakura! Isn't this exciting?" Karin cheered.

"Yeah!" Sakura smiled.

"Any pointers on how to handle a pregnant wife Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked him.

"Beware of the mood swings" Sakura and Karin turned from happy to glaring at Sasuke in the blink of an eye "I rest my case"

 _To be continued..._


	11. Rematch

_Hey everyone, sorry for the long time it's taking me to update. Good news is this chapter is a long one, two in one pretty much. Enjoy, next update should be here pretty soon._

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE YOU PERVERT!" A scream woke up everyone in the house.

"I can explain!" Kakashi Hatake exclaimed with his hands up after exiting Sakumo's room with Karin on the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Sarada angrily demanded from the door in front. Sakumo came out after her.

"There you are! What are you doing over there? What are Karin and Suigetsu doing in your room?" Kakashi asked Sakumo.

"They needed a place to sleep, they took Sakumo's room and he slept in Sarada's room for the night" Sakura emerged from hers.

"Oh" Kakashi nodded "And Jugo?"

"He took the couch" Sasuke appeared behind his wife.

"Naruto better have a house for us tonight!" Karin yelled before slamming the door shut.

"Karin and Suigetsu are...?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes" Sasuke sighed, he couldn't believe it yet.

"You're okay with this?" Kakashi asked Sakumo.

"I'm burning the sheets and getting new ones" Sakumo answered, rubbing his eyes.

"Fair enough" Kakashi nodded.

"Do I have to train today?" Sakumo complained

"Is no one in this house a morning person?" Kakashi sighed. Sasuke glared at him before closing his door and going back to sleep. Sarada closed her door long before that and only Kakashi and Sakumo remained in the hallway "anyway, you wish it was only training today" Sakumo just stared waiting for his sensei to explain himself "the time has come for you to take the physical exam"

"Now?" Sakumo gulped, he was not at all ready for it.

"Not now, later, come downstairs, I'll explain the details" he said as both made their way to the kitchen "yo" he greeted Jugo, who was awake.

"Good morning, Lord 6th" he said back. Kakashi sweatdropped, even outsiders called him the name he didn't like.

"So what does this exam consist of?" Sakumo asked. Kakashi simply turned on the TV.

"... villagers, you won't want to miss this" the news anchor said "this evening, in the colosseum, a fight between Boruto Uzumaki, Lord 7th's son, and Sakumo Uchiha, our police captain's son, will take place. An exhibition match that promises to be the event of the year"

"Fighting Boruto. That's my exam"

"Correct"

"You're making a show out of it" he glared. He wasn't very fond of the idea.

"Do we have to go back to theory lessons?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I know. The lack of conflict forces the shinobi world to make money somewhere else, like events such as this"

"Exactly. Besides, you get a rematch and more people to see it if you win, I thought you would love the opportunity"

"I don't"

"Too bad, it's already settled. Eat, rest, do whatever you need to do and get ready for the match, I'll come get you later" Kakashi raised his hand to say goodbye and with a cloud of smoke, he was gone. Sakumo grunted, he didn't feel like going back to sleep now that he had this... thing to look forward to. He decided that for now, he would eat some cereal.

"Someone's in a bad mood" he heard his mother's voice say as she appeared "I overheard, don't worry, you'll win, we have gone through Boruto's skills enough times don't you think?" she said as she joined him having breakfast.

"I know I'll win" he said between bites, Sakura rolled her eyes, that was more arrogance than confidence talking "It's the fact that I'm some sort of gladiator now what bothers me"

"You definitely need some coffee to get in a better mood" she sighed. She started making some coffee and spotted Jugo just staring at them from the living room "come join us Jugo, don't be shy" she smiled. Jugo nodded and sat in front of Sakumo. There was only the sound of the coffee machine for a while, too much silence for Sakura's comfort "You'll be shocked to learn that Sakumo here is Mr. Grumpy in the mornings" she sarcastically spoke up. Sakumo glared. Jugo smiled. Sakura's attempt didn't help much. There was more silence, Jugo just kept staring at Sakumo.

"What?" Sakumo asked.

"Sorry for staring, it's just that... Well, I'm sure you're tired of people telling you how much you resemble your father, but in my case, it's because you too, like your father, remind me of Kimimaro"

"Kimimaro?"

"Yes. The man that saved me. I've always devoted my life to protecting the will of Kimimaro, I think that maybe you are the one that carries it now" Jugo explained.

"Uh... okay" Sakumo said as he finished his cereal "I have to go take a shower" he excused himself. That was a bit too random for his taste.

"I'm sure you meant that as a compliment" Sakura said as she put her hand on Jugo's shoulder "I guess it will take some more time for you two to get along" she comforted him "after all, both of you are not very good a socializing" she joked. Jugo smiled. "So how are you doing? I mean... you know, psychologically"

"I'm actually doing great. I'd like to think that my... _urges_ , are something that I put behind me years ago"

"That's great" Sakura smiled "anyway, now that you live here you can only feel even safer, I'm around and I'm sure that my best friend Ino, who's even better than me, wouldn't mind helping"

"Thank you" Jugo smiled "wait.. what's that?" he pointed at the TV.

A bank robbery was taking place at that very moment in the Hidden Leaf. What appeared to be rogue ninja had robbed the place and were fighting their way out of the village. The Leaf police weren't able to stop them. Sakura wasn't worried though, in a couple of seconds, she felt him get up and dash out of the house slamming the door after him. These guys were not going anywhere.

 **Hokage's Office**

"So they've been finally apprehended?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, as soon as Sasuke showed up, it was only a matter of seconds" Shikamaru answered.

"Good" Naruto sighed in relief "how in the world did they manage to get past our best like Kiba anyway?" an object flew across the room and Naruto caught it.

"With that" Sasuke answered after entering the room.

"Scientific ninja tools..." Shikamaru observed.

"Who in the world are these thieves and how did they manage to get their hands on these?" Naruto demanded.

"Ninja from the Hidden Valleys village with a grudge against the Five Great Nations" Sasuke answered "My guess? The black market"

"Not this again" Naruto grunted "Shikamaru, get in touch with the other Kage, we are going to have to find whoever is smuggling these and end this as soon as possible"

"What a drag..." Shikamaru complained as he left the room.

"Going after the weapons will not make the disenchantment of the smaller villages just go away" Sasuke said. Naruto raised his hand.

"Sasuke, from the look of it, a Five Kage Summit will take place soon, hold the politics discussion until there and then"

"Hmpf" Sasuke grunted as he turned around, making his way out.

"Wait"

"What" Sasuke demanded.

"Now that we're alone, we should talk, about Sakumo's case"

"Give me updates or don't waste my time"

"Yes, that's what I wanted to tell you" Naruto tried to ease Sasuke's irritation. Sasuke sighed.

"I'm listening" Sasuke said after sitting down.

"We found Orochimaru's body, or well, a _vessel"_ Naruto spoke up "I guess this means Orochimaru is now our number 1 suspect"

"This wasn't Orochimaru" Sasuke answered.

"I know, my gut tells me the same thing, but it's the only thing we have... unless..."

"You're asking for my help" Sasuke caught on.

"Not exactly, I made myself clear, you can't get involved in this investigation" Naruto said with a weird expression "but, I can listen to your input... ya'know, unofficially" Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's silly behaviour.

"Land Of Water" he answered, nonetheless.

"Huh?"

"Madara and Obito ruled the Hidden Mist from the shadows for generations, the fact that my son was taken there of all places can't be a coincidence" Sasuke explained.

"Of course. That's brilliant. I'll get someone on that ASAP"

"Anything else?"

"Yes, we followed his adoptive parents' trail. We got a positive ID for their murderers" Naruto turned his computer screen so Sasuke could see it.

"Rogue ninja from the Hidden Cloud..." Sasuke observed "they're still out there" he stated.

"Yes, finding them is our highest priority"

"Sakumo doesn't know who they are" Sasuke told Naruto "we have to keep it that way" Naruto nodded.

"I've trusted you with this information. I'll talk to Darui. I cannot overstate the importance of me handling this and you not getting involved, our relations with the Hidden Cloud are complicated enough as they are"

"I know what people think of me in the Land Of Lightning better than anyone" Sasuke glared.

"I'm just saying, and I know you"

"You don't have to order me to stay away from this Naruto, there is no one better than me that knows about these situations and I'm not an idiot"

"As long as we're clear" Naruto nodded. Sasuke attempted to leave again "Wait"

" _What now_ " Sasuke growled. Naruto was seriously pushing his luck.

"Relax, this will certainly calm things down" Sasuke raised his eyebrow "Sakumo's exam will take place this evening, do you know what it is?" Sasuke shook his head "You're gonna love it" Naruto grinned.

 **Hidden Leaf Colosseum**

The colosseum was packed. Every single seat was taken, some people had to stand up in the back and the vomitoriums. The noise of so many people was clearly palpable in the locker room where Sakumo was attempting to rest at. He couldn't lie. He was nervous. The thought of so many people watching him fight was not something he was comfortable with. He took a deep breath. This was about Boruto. He would get even with him now that he was a trained shinobi just like him. But then he remembered the Hidden Leaf Villagers. The weird stares he got from some. Not to mention some shinobi who disrespected him. Sakumo wasn't a people person, but he did listen. He was fully aware of the reputation he had, some new Uchiha kid who thought he was a big shot because of his blood alone when he wasn't even a real shinobi. He then realized the real stakes here. He could either get the respect and validation he sought, or the complete opposite and ruin his reputation even further. He hadn't even thought about losing this match, but now that he had he felt fear. Insecurity. Emotions that he loathed. No, he would win. He studied Boruto, he knew how to fight, learned jutsu to counter his, trained by the 6th Hokage of all people. His mind was racing like crazy running from confidence to fear and back in no time. And the roar from the crowd he was constantly hearing made it worse. He needed them to just shut up, he needed a distraction or something.

"Sorry I'm late kid" Kakashi appeared. Sakumo let out a sigh if relief, finally, he wasn't alone with his stupid mind, which was hellbent on betraying him right now. "Nervous?" he asked.

"No" he lied. Sakumo was more than used to hide his real emotions with a cool and uncaring facade. Kakashi saw right through it though. Calling him on his act would probably make it worse, so Kakashi tried to calm him down in a subtle way.

"This is actually kind of sad for me, this is my last day with you as your sensei" he said. Sakumo looked at him "I am proud of you. You have been a great student, in these couple of months we've had to train anyway, but that just goes to show how gifted you are. You are more than ready to be a Hidden Leaf Shinobi, and I'm not just saying that because of your blood, I want you to know that you truly have the skills a shinobi requires. You are sharp, strong and brilliant. We'll be lucky to have you as one of us" Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Thank you Kakashi sensei" Sakumo smiled. He truly did appreciate his words.

"Before you go out there and actually become a shinobi though... there is something you have to figure out"

"Figure out what?" Sakumo asked. Kakashi sat down next to him.

"What is your goal? Why are you becoming a shinobi? What is your ninja way?" He asked. Sakumo remembered Kakashi bringing this up in the first lessons. Sakumo thought about it a lot, and his answer was firm and clear.

"Justice" he answered.

"Define justice" Kakashi immediately answered.

"I know why you are concerned. Don't worry sensei, you have taught me well the difference between justice and vengeance. I won't obsess over my adopted parents' killer, but I do have the ambition to stop bad things happening to people, stopping people like that, bring them to justice by putting them in prison... I know that the Uchiha have always been the police of the Hidden Leaf and perhaps, that is my destiny... a destiny that I embrace" Sakumo explained. There was silence as Kakashi looked away

"That is a fine goal and you should pursue it" Kakashi spoke up. Sakumo felt relief, as he did just lie to him. Sakumo was still _obsessed_ over that and was his number 1 priority. However, his parents and Kakashi always became uncomfortable and disapproved of the way he talked about revenge, so, he had learned to lie about it. And from the look of it, he was very damn good at it."You are ready to become a shinobi. Go out there and show the Hidden Leaf what you're made of. I'll be watching with the Hokage and your old man" Kakashi said as he stood up and left. "Oh" his head reemerged "I forgot to mention, I know your father has made you a kenjutsu force to be reckoned with but the Hokage is looking for taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu, so don;t use your sword. Good luck!" he finally left.

Sakumo looked at the clock. Half an hour left. He got lost in his thoughts again. He wasn't lying and was completely honest about the second part he told Kakashi. His goal in life was justice, making bad people pay for hurting others, and joining the police force in the future was something he wanted to do. It was just that making those animals pay for what they did to his adoptive parents _was_ justice regardless of whatever anyone else said. He was the only one who gave a damn about it form the look of it and that is why he would do it himself. There was a knock on the door that brought him back to reality once again, it was his mother and sister.

"Hey there" his mother smiled "just checking in on you, wishing you luck before your big day"

"Thank you" he answered.

"I thought you should know, Boruto is acting all superior and hasn't even trained much. He's gotten super annoying, do me a favour and beat him, he really needs to be brought back to Earth" Sarada told him. Sakura laughed. Someone else entered the locker room.

"Hey" a female voice said. Sakumo recognized her, the girl from the cat restaurant place.

"Wasabi, what are you doing here?" Sarada asked.

"Oh hey Sarada!" she greeted before looking at Sakumo "I'm here to remind you that you promised me you would teach Boruto a lesson. Will you deliver?" She grinned.

"He was about to promise the same thing to me" Sarada said. Sakura remained silent. She had no idea that Sakumo and Wasabi already knew each other, and well, she couldn't help but notice the way they looked at each other. She smiled. This was quite the surprise.

"Relax ladies, this idiot is about to bite the dust, I won't disappoint you" he smirked. Wasabi nodded and left.

"You know Wasabi?" Sarada asked her brother.

"Father took me to Tamaki's place once, I met her there" he explained. Sarada nodded, she then noticed her mother grinning devilishly at Sakumo.

"Looks like you found a young lady that doesn't annoy you..." she teased.

"What do you mean?" Sakumo raised his eyebrow.

"There must be something special about her, for you not to tell her to stop bothering you like I've seen you do with other girls" Sakura explained.

"Of course. She doesn't start touching me or anything like that" he said without realizing what his mother was implying.

"Which is maybe why you find her attractive?" she asked.

"What?" he practically yelled. This surprised Sarada. Did her brother seriously find a woman attractive? She couldn't wrap her mind around that thought.

"I rest my case" Sakura started laughing.

"I barely know her okay?" Sakumo defended himself.

"And? You're blushing, you like her"

"No, I don't"

"Sure. Let's go find our seats Sarada, let your brother make his peace with the fact that he's a male who likes females" she kept teasing.

"Stop it" Sakumo demanded.

"Don't be ashamed Sakumo! Plus, you chose Tamaki's daughter! Excellent choice!" Sakura stuck her tongue out before leaving. Sakumo was left there, feeling his face burning. It must be anger for being teased like that. But... she was a good looking girl, now that he thought about it, he was a male who liked females, that was true. Still, he couldn't be bothered with this stupid romance crap.

Sakura and Sarada walked around the colosseum.

"I can't wait to tell your father, it will be priceless" Sakura laughed.

"You're acting like they're gonna get married and they barely know each other" Sarada answered.

"I am not! However, it would be so great to have Tamaki as official family! Sasuke won't be too pleased about Kiba though... But, I bet it won't be as bad as Naruto, thanks to you" Sakura said.

"Teasing me about Boruto again, joy. It's getting seriously old mom"

"You hide it better than you brother but I'm your mother, I can see right through you"

"Whatever" Sarada sighed as she walked away.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to sit with Chocho and the rest of my friends" she yelled.

"Right, you're a teenager and you're too cool to hang out with your parents" she yelled back. She sure missed when Sarada was an adorable little girl... she looked down to her stomach, she was lucky she could get to experience that again.

Sakura walked to the top of the colosseum and arrived to where the Hokage and the rest of, it could be said VIPs she guessed, sat in the colosseum. Sasuke was already there, she took the empty seat next to her husband.

"You won't believe what I just saw" she said.

"What?"

"Your son has the hots for Wasabi" Sakura grinned.

"Yeah, right" he rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, apparently they met when you took him to Tamaki's" Sasuke looked at his wife and he could tell she was serious. He sighed.

"Of all the women in the Leaf, he just _has_ to pick the mutt's daughter. Of course, just like his sister"

"You know, you could see it as him picking Tamaki's daughter and Sarada picking Hyuga blood"

"No, because they're doing just to spite me, I'm sure of it" Sakura laughed "where did you see this anyway?"

"Down in the locker room, she came looking for him, I'm pretty sure it's mutual" she answered. Sasuke glared "anyway, why weren't you down there?"

"Why would I?"

"Because it's what family does? Wish him good luck?"

"He doesn't need it"

"Um... yes he will" the Hokage interrupted them, who arrived with his wife and took his seat.

"No, he won't. My son is far stronger than yours now" Sasuke answered.

"Are you sure? Last time I checked Boruto won" Naruto snapped back.

"Because he wasn't trained in the ways of ninja, now that he is, different story"

"Two months of training, even with Kakashi, are not enough for him to catch up with Boruto"

"I would know better than you, since I've trained them both"

"You haven't trained Boruto in a lot of years buddy, these last years yours truly, the best ninja in the Leaf, has been teaching him a few tricks not even you can see coming"

"Turning himself into a naked chick won't help him much"

"Oh, we're going there? And what did you teach him? How to be an arrogant prick?"

"I'll tell you what I didn't teach him. How to be an annoying loser"

"What did you just say!?" Naruto yelled.

"It was pretty clear, or do I need to say it slower because you're retarded?"

"Why you fucking stuck up prick!"

"Moronic shit for brains"

"Sociopathic bastard!"

"Enough! What is wrong with you two? You haven't been this stupid since you were kids!" Sakura stopped the yelling that was about to cause a scene.

"Naruto dear, you're the Hokage and everyone's watching, behave yourself" Hinata scolded.

"I have a pretty good theory" Ino said as she turned around, who sat a row in front of them "I think that since they can't properly fight because they would destroy everything around them, they're projecting years of rivalry into their sons" it must have been true, as Sakura saw Sasuke calm down and the same expression in his face as the one he made when he solved a case.

"That is terrible of you, Naruto" Hinata disapproved. Naruto just rubbed his head and laughed.

"Be quiet, it's starting" Kakashi spoke up as Rock Lee appeared and Sakumo and Boruto emerged from the corners and walked to the center.

"I'm Rock Lee and it's an honor to be the referee of this match!" he yelled "To my right! Son of Lord 7th and descendant of the Hyuga clan! Our most gifted chunin Boruto Uzumaki!" the crowd cheered "And to my left! The son of our Police Captain and top Medical ninja! By far one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced! Sakumo Uchiha!" Sakumo noticed Rock Lee show him a thumbs up, apparently he didn't hold grugdes. The crowd roared again, but it was clear that most wanted Boruto to win. After all, Boruto was a local and Sakumo was still the new guy.

"Back for more huh?" Boruto smirked.

"Last time didn't count. I'm picking it back up where we left off" Sakumo hissed as he already activated his Sharingan.

"My pleasure" Boruto answered as he activated his Jogan in response.

"I can see our youthful ninja can't wait any longer! Begin!"

Rock Lee made the begin gesture with his arm and disappeared. Before anyone could notice, the two were already locked in a furious taijutsu exchange. First Sakumo was on the offensive and pushed Boruto back, when Boruto had nowhere to back up, he went upwards, climbing the wall with his chakra, Sakumo stayed on the offensive and followed suit, he wouldn't let Boruto use the gentle fist, since he had learned he would be at a disadvantage if he did defensive taijutsu. Boruto could block all of Sakumo's punches and kicks, he would be surprised at Sakumo's ferocity, if he wasn't answering with his own. Sakumo quickly noticed that Boruto was fighting with his palms open, and he could use that to his advantage, he used his hand and Boruto's hand to perform handseals, to the shock of Boruto, before Boruto could tell what he was doing, Sakumo had already dropped down and he spit a massive fireball out of his mouth, he had no time to counter it with water ninjutsu, and frankly, he was shocked, the fireball was bigger than the ones he saw Sarada used. He did the only thing he could, duck sideways. His arm still got burned, burning the sleeve of his jacket to ash. He gripped his arm and dropped to ground level, and saw Sakumo smirking. He underestimated him and he wouldn't just play defense, if he kept toying around, Sakumo would beat him in no time. He switched to an offensive approach and charged at Sakumo, Boruto was angry. Sakumo did not let that opportunity slip, he countered with a kick that knocked Boruto back again.

"You only have one Jogan, I have two Sharingan. Attempt charging like that again and I will really punish you next time" Sakumo warned.

"And why didn't you do it now?" Boruto demanded.

"I want to beat you at your best. Start fighting seriously now, and don't get too worked up, you should know better than that" he answered. Boruto felt the anger take hold of him, but Sakumo was right, so he took a deep breath and calmed down. He had seriously underestimated Sakumo, he realized. But, he wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"You're going to wish you took me down when you could" Boruto said as he performed the shadow clone handseal.

5 copies of Boruto appeared around Sakumo. Each one started performing different ninjutsu. Sakumo prepared a ninjutsu of his own. Water, lightning and air attacks clashed against a rock wall that surfaced from the ground, the attacks destroyed the wall, only to be no one inside it. Boruto had seen Mitsuki do this too many times, he knew where to search, below. He could see the chakra with his Jogan, and there it was, he feigned ignorance as Sakumo emerged from the ground and attacked a shadow clone, only for it to disappear, the 4 Borutos attacked Sakumo at the same time, after landing 4 clean and devastating punches, Boruto was shocked to see Sakumo smirk, next thing he knew, Sakumo exploded.

Sasuke felt his lips curve into a smile. An exploding shadow clone. This was an Itachi signature jutsu and he never even taught it to him. He came up with it all by himself, the poetry of it all. Just like when he used Boruto's hands before to perform a fireball jutsu, much like he did himself against Naruto all those years back.

It turned out those in the field were all shadow clones. After the explosion, there was no one to be seen.

 _Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!_

A scream forced everyone to look up, where the real Boruto was, apparently keeping himself in the air using wind style jutsu. Sakumo emerged from the ground, dodging the water dragon that collided against the spot he was hiding in. Boruto charged at where Sakumo would land from above, Rasengan in hand. Before he landed, Sakumo performed more hand signs.

 _Earth Style! Mud Wall!_

Boruto's Rasengan annihilated the wall Sakumo created to protect himself, even so, the shockwave knocked Sakumo backwards. Boruto wasted no time, the ground was wet from his previous jutsu, he jumped up, took out shuriken and charged them with lightning. _Oh no you don't_ Sakumo thought.

 _Lightning Shuriken Jutsu!_

 _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_

The lightning shuriken were countered with fire shuriken before they could touch the ground. The same trick wasn't going to work twice. Boruto cursed himself before Sakumo threw more shuriken at him, Boruto took a kunai out and deflected them, as he landed on the ground, Boruto created 10 shadow clones but Sakumo had another earth jutsu in store. Boruto couldn't figure out which jutsu it was, but as he felt the ground shaking violently below him he got an idea. All the shadow clones disappeared. The original had no option but to jump, Sakumo threw a kunai at him, Boruto took a deep breath and evaded it with a wind jutsu. Next time, Sakumo attacked him with a fireball jutsu, attempting to dodge in mid air with a wind jutsu was a terrible idea, he countered it with a water jutsu.

Boruto landed on the ground, he started breathing heavily. He was running out of chakra. He was glad when he looked up at Sakumo and he was in a similar state. After such a ninjutsu fest, their chakra was drained. They locked eyes and knew what was about to happen, both would throw their strongest ninjutsu at each other. And so, they did.

A huge lightning dragon clashed against a huge fire dragon that blinded everyone in the colosseum. After a flash, everyone saw a completely trashed fighting stage with both fighters lying on the ground, panting heavily. Both forced themselves to stand up.

Sakumo still had some chakra left, and he thought about what to do. Ninjutsu had proven to be pointless, as whatever they did, the other would counter it with his own. Genjutsu was out if the question since he had visual prowess too. Only option was taijutsu. But what could he do? He didn't have the strength to stay on the offensive and Boruto had the advantage since his eye had Byakugan abilities, if he managed to hit one of his chakra points, it was over. What taijutsu existed that could take Boruto down? Then, he saw Lee check on both of them and then it hit him.

"I'll be cool an offer you a tie" Boruto spoke up "We both know taijutsu is the only thing remaining and I have the advantage. What do you say?" Boruto smirked.

"This ends with a winner and a loser" Sakumo answered.

"So be it. Come at me and become the loser" Boruto answered. He gasped when he saw him disappear. Next thing he knew, he felt an impact on his chin and being sent flying upwards.

"The dancing leaf shadow!?" Metal Lee exclaimed. Sarada smiled. She knew this was exactly what would happen.

Sakumo grabbed Boruto and started spinning, letting go of him and crashing him to the ground at the end. He fell down and felt an excruciating pain. Looks like the technique had a nasty side effect. Still, he managed to keep himself conscious, it was kind of a cakewalk compared to maintaining a Susano'o. Rock Lee checked on Boruto, not like he needed to since he knew the technique better than anyone. He just knew he would use it, like father, like son.

"Boruto Uzumaki is unable to continue! Sakumo Uchiha is the winner!" He declared. After some gasps and incredulity from the crowd, it finally started cheering.

"CHA!" Sakura couldn't help but scream with excitement.

"That brat didn't even bother to come up with something original" Sasuke chuckled "still, he is the winner. As I knew he would be" he teased the Hokage.

"Overall, it's 1-1" Naruto pouted. Sasuke smirked as he got up and left. Naruto stopped being the father and was the Hokage now. Yeah. Sakumo had passed the test with flying colors. In just two months, he mastered ninjutsu to a level matching Boruto's. Tomorrow morning, Sakumo Uchiha would officially be a Hidden Leaf chunin. Naruto got up and went back to work, he would need to create a new team.

"Damn it" Boruto said as he regained consciousness. He saw Sakumo offering his fingers.

"Now we're even" he said.

"You got lucky this time" Boruto protested as he accepted "our real battle starts now" he declared.

"You will lose again" he taunted.

"We'll see about that" Boruto pouted. Sakumo and Boruto glared at each other. Now, having respect for each other, their rivalry was only getting started.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"Ow" Sakumo protested as Sakura healed him.

"Sorry about that"

"So, you actually did it" Sarada said as she entered Sakumo's room.

"Of course I did"

"Say that without crying like a baby about mom's healing and I'll actually believe you" Sarada retorted. Sakura scolded her with a look. She was way worse when getting healed.

"So, the dancing leaf shadow, I didn't know you knew that technique" Sakura said.

"Copied it from" he let out a small hiss as Sakura disinfected another scratch "from Rock Lee"

"Yeah, that's how Lee beat him in Shark" Sarada explained.

"I see" Sakura nodded "anyway, I'm proud of you Sakumo, very good match. You definitely need more chakra control though..." she said. Sakumo rolled his eyes. It was all about chakra control with his mother.

"Totally, I would have beaten him and not end as messed up as you are" Sarada added insult to injury.

"Thank you both, it feels really nice to have your family's approval" he sarcastically said. Sakura laughed as she finished healing him. They exited his room to let him rest. A couple of minutes later, the door knocked to reveal his father.

"Hey" he greeted. Sakumo simply grunted in response, he was exhausted "you fought well" Sasuke let out after some second of silence "you should be very proud of yourself, you have come incredibly far in a very short amount of time..." Sakumo looked at his father and smiled "anyway, congratulations, I spoke with Naruto, you are a Hidden Leaf Chunin" Sasuke said as he sat dwon in front of the bed and put his hand over Sakumo's shoulder.

"So I made it past genin" Sakumo said.

"Yes, Boruto is one of the best chunin in the village, and you actually defeated him. Plus, we both know you can do much more... but you won't use that, won't you?" Sasuke asked.

"No, father" he reassured. Sasuke nodded.

"Kakashi told me about your ninja way..." Sasuke spoke up after another silence "I didn't want to tell you anything, I don't really feel like I have the authority to tell you what to do, and I'd rather let you do your own thing" Sasuke explained "but you must know, as the first male born Uchiha, you are the heir to our clan. That means, that someday, you will take my place as the Police Captain, like my father before me, and my grandfather before him... and so on" Sakumo nodded "like I said, I don't want you to think that I'm forcing this destiny onto you, but-"

"Father" Sakumo interrupted "I want to"

"Are you sure?" He asked, Sakumo nodded "well, you just made it easier for me" Sasuke confessed "it's probably too much to put on your shoulders right now, you did just become a shinobi and arrived not that long ago. But as the one who will be the head of the Uchiha clan someday, I have to teach you some things, you will be responsible for your sister, and the future brother or sister that's on the way"

"I know. And I want to learn father. It's difficult to explain but I have this feeling that this is where I belong, this is what I must do. I finally have you and I'm starting to understand a lot of things that I didn't have before" Sakumo explained. Sasuke nodded "will you tell me everything about our clan?" he asked. Time stopped for both of them. Sakumo wanted answers to the questions that burned inside him. Why was everyone so secretive. Why some people outright looked at him with disgust. Why are the Uchiha so famous yet there's so little to know about them? And on the other side, Sasuke held the answers to those questions. Yet, Sakumo was far better off without knowing them.

"Someday, yes" he answered.

"When?"

"I've had this conversation with Sarada multiple times. Believe me when I say that you're not ready to know these things yet"

"That makes me even more eager to want to know them" Sakumo complained. He was stopped by his father's fingers poking his forehead.

"You will know them. Just some other time" Sasuke said as he got up "get some rest, tomorrow morning you have to be at the Hokage's office" he turned off the light and closed the door after him. Sakumo rubbed his forehead, it was always like this in these occasions he bonded with his father, it would end in a cliffhanger with a forehead poke telling him to wait. Still, he felt his father's love in those pokes, and he could not feel angry at him.

 **Next Day. Hokage's Office**

Sakumo stood at the door of the Hokage's office. He had never been here, as a matter of fact, he had never talked to the Hokage face to face. He was a bit nervous, but he gathered his courage and knocked. A strong male voice told him to come in, so he opened the door. There he was, Naruto Uzumaki, the 7th Hokage.

"Sakumo. So good to meet you at last. I'm sorry for not being able to meet sooner, but I'm quite busy you see" he said as he gestured to a stack of papers in his desk. He got up and some papers fell "Shi-... sorry about that" he said as he picked them up and put them back on the table. He offered Sakumo a handshake with a grin. Sakumo shook his hand. He sweat dropped. So... _goofy_. Not what you'd expect from the Hokage at all. He was beginning to understand his father's occasional but blatant rude remarks of such an important man.

"Likewise, Lord 7th" he answered. Naruto was taken aback by the boy's politeness. A nice Sasuke. Weird.

"So, your father probably told you" he said as he sat down "please" he said as he motioned for him to do the same "As the Hokage, I welcome you to the Hidden Leaf as one of our shinobi" he said as he handed him a Hidden Leaf headband. Sakumo took it and looked at it. He finally had one. He remembered he had never really thought about where to put it, everyone wore it on their foreheads and since he was such a _rebel_ like his mother would say he would defy the norm. Maybe he would put it on his waist, like his father, it looked cool "and this is unusal, but since you are so skilled and surprised all of us yesterday, we have to make you a chunin because that is your level, prbably even jonin level" he said as he also handed him the famous Hidden Leaf vest "you seriously impressed me yesterday Sakumo, I heard good things from Kakashi but I never thought you could beat my son" he explained. Sakumo couldn't help but smirk. _Ah, there's the Uchiha blood_ Naruto thought, he would have to stop complimenting him then "anyway, here, I need you to sign this" he handed Sakumo a form. Sakumo knew what it was, didn't need to read it, Kakashi explained it well, I agree to be a Leaf shinobi, I take these responsibilities, I'm aware of the risks yadda yadda yadda, he signed it "thank you" Naruto said as he picked it up and stacked it in a pile of paper "now, Sasuke hasn't elaborated much, but as your leader, I need to know your skills, you have the Mangekyo Sharingan, correct?"

"Yes" Sakumo answered "I'm not supposed to use it though"

"See, Sasuke didn't say that. If you could use it you would easily be one of our top shinobi without question, and why can't you use it?"

"Secret of the clan" he answered. His father would be very serious about that stuff.

"Seriously" Naruto sweat dropped "well no matter, good, I'll consider you as a regular sharingan user and that works perfectly for the team I've assigned you to"

"You've assigned me to a team already?" he asked.

"Yes, this is your squad" Naruto said as he handed him 3 files.

"Metal Lee will be one of your teammates. You know his father, so you will probably already have an idea of his skills" Sakumo nodded, he looked at Metal's picture. Weird bowlcut, too. Seriously? He turned the page and saw a familiar face "Wasabi Inuzuka will be your other teammate, a great shinobi who uses man beast transformation jutsu, you'll see. It's actually perfect you got here. Both Metal and Wasabi lost their teammates so they've been travelling from one squad to another. Now that you're here, you three can form a normal chunin squad of people of the same age like your sister's and my son's team" Naruto explained "and last but not least, your team leader, the jonin in charge of you three" Sakumo turned the page. He somehow knew it would be her "My sister in law Hanabi Hyuga. You already know her, she's one of our greatest ninja and believe me when I say she's a perfect leader for you" Great. A weird dude, a chick he now saw in a sexual way thanks to his mother and the woman he almost killed. What could go wrong? "Don't worry, you guys will make a great team, I'm sure of it" Naruto spoke as if eh could read his mind "You will be team 9. They're waiting for you in the training grounds" Sakumo raised his eyebrow "Yes, your training starts right now. Good luck" Naruto said as he stood up and shook his hand with a grin.

"Thank you Lord Hokage, I'll be there right away" Sakumo bowed before leaving. Naruto sweatdropped again, he reminded him more of Sakura than Sasuke, now that he had finally met him in person. So weird.

 **Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

"So great to be in a normal team again!" Metal Lee exclaimed.

"But we're just 3?" Wasabi observed.

"The one we're missing should be showing up any minute now" Hanabi answered.

"Who is it?" Wasabi asked.

"Oh, you know him alright"

"Huh?"

"And there he is" Hanabi pointed at the boy who just got there.

"So it's you huh? I guess I should have known!" Wasabi smiled.

"I always get the tough guys. First Iwabe and now him, I can't catch a break" Metal Lee complained.

"What?" Sakumo asked.

"Nothing! Looking forward to share a team with you Sakumo! I have taijutsu beyond the dancing leaf shadow that you won't see coming!" he completely changed his attitude.

"Okay..."

"Hey there kid" Hanabi spoke up.

"Oh, nice to actually meet you" Sakumo awkwardly said, Hanabi let out a chuckle.

"You got lucky and beat me before, but don't you think you're better than me. I can still show you a couple of things and you're under my command now" she told him.

"Yes ma'am" he said. He was actually glad she was kind of nice to him.

"Now that everyone's here, we can start training" she announced "the exercise is simple, I have these bells, get them from me" she explained. _Seriously?_ The 3 of them thought, sounded too easy "But before that..." before they knew it they were all in the floor groaning in pain "I've disabled some of your chakra points, have to make this a challenge don't we?" she teased "Oh and Sakumo, I've been extra harsh on you. Forget about using your Sharingan today and you will be feeling... well... like shit for a couple of days. Now we're even" She winked "Catch me if you can!" she disappeared.

"Alright I know what this is about, my parent have told me about this stupid test" Sakumo said as he managed to stood up "we'll have to work as a team, especially now since we're kind of pathetic"

"Tell me about it" Wasabi said as she managed to stand up too.

"Give me a minute you guys" Metal said as he couldn't even move. They sighed, they had a long road ahead of them to work as a team.

 _To be continued..._

 _So, in the next chapter, we'll have a two year timeskip. I want Sarada and Sakumo to be older, plus the baby will already be there. It will be fun I promise, lots of good things coming._


	12. Return of the Past

_Hey everyone! As I promised, here's the next chapter way earlier than usual. I'll try my best to keep this rhythm going!_

 _So, as I said at the end of the previous chapter, we're having a 2 year timeskip. The Uchiha twins are 18 years old now, and they have a 2 year old sibling who you're going to meet in a little bit. Now that you know that, on to the next chapter!_

 **Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

"Good work everyone, nice training today, now, we have one last exercise" Konohamaru Sarutobi announced.

"Sakumo and Sarada, here" Hanabi Hyuga spoke, team 7 and team 9 were training together.

"Eye bandages?" Sarada asked as Hanabi handed them over.

"With your sharingan, you could see chakra even with your eyes covered, so these are actually eye seals" she clarified.

"What for?" Sakumo asked.

"Hanabi and I have been discussing your progress, and it turns out that both of you rely way too much on your sight, imagine if an opponent blinds you with a flash jutsu, you would be at their complete mercy if they managed to blind you in the battle" Konohamaru explained.

"So, put those on, the point of this exercise is to strengthen your other senses, such as chakra sensitivity, sound, smell... and so on" Hanabi continued

"I have a couple of aces in the hole if such a thing happened" Sakumo answered. Sarada was about to say something too.

"Don't protest and put that on, this training is necessary for you" Konohamaru ordered.

"Hey! What about us? Are we just going to sit back and watch?" Boruto complained.

"Relax, your part is going to be fun, you get to toy around with them" Hanabi smirked. An evil grin appeared on the rest of the chunin.

"What do you mean toy around with us" Sarada demanded.

"The exercise will be pointless if we tell you, put the seals on already" Konohamaru grew impatient. Sarada and Sakumo sighed and put them on.

"Okay, now what?" Sarada said.

"Just wait a minute" Hanabi answered, both were surprised since her voice came from a significant distance. They heard them whisper, they couldn't understand what they were saying. They just waited, without being able to see a thing. This was not going to be fun for them.

"What was that" Sarada yelled as she felt someone or something touch her hair. Then, something on her leg, something under her nose that tickled "stop it!" she yelled again as she swung her fist to someone she felt in front of her, she stumbled as she punched the air. She grunted and heard laughter around her.

"Ow!" Sakumo felt something hit his head not long after hearing whatever they were doing to his sister on his left. Another thing hit his arm. He figured they were rocks. He couldn't tell where they were coming from, so as he attempted to dodge the rock were hitting him anyway.

"This is so fucking stupid!" Sarada complained as she was being messed with "I don't know how this will help me!" she heard Boruto's laugh "and how come he gets to do this and not be on our same situation! He has visual prowess too!"

"I put Boruto through this training years ago" she heard Hanabi's voice from afar again "plus, he doesn't rely on it as much as you do to begin with"

"I know this is you douchebag!" Sakumo yelled as he had quite enough of being hit with rocks "you are so fucking dead once this is over with!" he threatened. Wasabi and Metal, the ones who were actually throwing rocks at him, laughed their asses off, Boruto and Mitsuki were busy messing with Sarada, Boruto on a tree above her, and Mitsuki hiding on the ground beneath her.

"Stop complaining and do what we told you to!" Konohamaru yelled from afar. Hanabi sighed, they had a long way to go.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

The doorbell rang. Sakura opened the front door to be greeted by someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Lady Tsunade!" she said as she hugged her mentor.

"Stop calling me that Sakura, at this point I'm more like a mother to you" Tsunade said as she hugged her back.

"What brings you here?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you know, got tired of visiting bars and casinos around the world, figured I should come back and check on you and Shizune" she laughed. Sakura smiled. Tsunade looked at Sakura, she noticed she grew her hair since she last saw her, now being well past shoulder length. She looked beautiful, she honestly hoped she wasn't using her 100 healing mark in the same way as she was "oh?" she let out of her mouth as she saw a little kid hiding behind Sakura's leg "who's this little guy?" she asked.

"Come on sweetie, don't be shy" Sakura warmly said as she picked the kid up "Tsunade, this is my son, Shisui" she said with a smile "and Shisui, this is Tsunade, I guess you could say she's your grandma!" Sakura winked, referencing what Tsunade said earlier.

"Hello Shisui" Tsunade smiled.

"Hi" the little boy timidly greeted back. Tsunade studied the little thing. Signature black hair, definitely an Uchiha baby, he looked just like Sarada when she met her about 17 years ago. The boy hugged his mother and looked away, Tsunade could see fear in his eyes. Kind of ironic, since she was sure than in a couple of years those eyes would make other eyes have that expression in them.

"Sorry, he's a bit shy" Sakura said "Please, come in!" she said as she led Tsunade to the living room. Tsunade sat down in the couch "can you watch him while I bring something to drink? Don't worry, he won't be any trouble" Sakura said as she sat the little kid next to Tsunade. Before Tsunade could protest Sakura had already disappeared to the kitchen. She was left with a kid that was kind of afraid of her. Great. Tsunade didn't know what to do as she was left there with little Shisui in awkward silence. She felt him looking at her, she turned her eyes to meet his but as soon as she did so, the kid looked away. After a couple of times, she kept looking at him with a smile, try to warm up to him a little bit. Once she smiled, the kid didn't take his eyes from her, all of a sudden, he was completely different, she felt him studying her, like if his eyes were already a Sharingan reading her soul. The kid crawled to her and sat on her lap. He reached to her face and felt his little hand touching her forehead.

"Purple thing. Like mommy and big sister" he spoke up. He was an observant kid, Tsunade noted. She was also impressed to learn that Sarada had acquired it too "are you mommy's mommy?" he asked.

"I guess you could say so, yes" she smiled. She wasn't exactly lying. She had been with Sakura since she was 13, and became her mother figure once Sakura's parents passed away in the 4th Great Ninja War. Sakura and Shizune were practically Tsunade's daughters and she considered them as such, since she never had any children of her own.

"Then you're my grandma?" Shisui asked with a smile.

"Yeah, sure kid, you can call me grandma Tsuna" she answered. She figured she should change the 'granny Tsunade' that she grew to dread thanks to Naruto, it would be anice breath of fresh air.

"Grandma Tsuna!" the boy cheered. This caused Tsunade to laugh as she picked him up from her lap.

"Well, you might just be the first person that little Shisui has warmed up to in such a short amount of time" Sakura said with a smile as she put down a couple of cups on the table in front of the couch.

"Mommy, I like grandma Tsuna!" Shisui said as he pulled Tusnade's hair. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.

"Shisui!" Sakura scolded before taking him away from Tsunade "I'm sorry about that. He has a weird fascination for women's hair now, must be because Sarada and I grew it long while he grew up" Sakura said as she gave her son a don't look "so anyway...Grandma Tsuna huh?" she said while she smiled at Tsunade.

"Yeah... last of the Senju clan, grandma of an Uchiha kid, isn't that precious" Tsunade joked.

"You did say you're like a mother to me" Sakura said.

"Yeah, well, at least I see you as my daughter" she said " the Senju clan name dies with me but its legacy lives on with Naruto, my own grandmother Mito was an Uzumaki, so it works out and makes some kind of circle"

"Well thank you, it's mutual , _mom_ " Sakura smiled.

"You just had to marry an Uchiha" Tsunade mocked, the situation was getting to cheesy for her liking.

"Who are you to judge? You told me you once had a thing for Kagami Uchiha, I remember"

"Oh yes... my own Romeo and Juliet story from when I was a young and naive kid" she dreamily reminisced, but that wasn't true love she thought, Dan was her true love, and his passing was the reason she never had a family of her own, she decided to not think about that "did I really tell you about that? I can't remember" Sakura nodded "I must be going senile"

"Come on, you not only look young, you're young at heart too" Sakura answered. Tsunade laughed.

"Speaking of Kagami... interesting that you chose to name your kid after his descendant, Shisui" Tsunade brought up. The present Shisui looked up since he heard his name, but the two women were talking in a different language as far as he was concerned.

"Oh yeah. Sasuke wanted to name our kid after someone important to him from the clan, that was an exemplary ninja... Shisui seemed like a no brainer, plus, this way he's not the only one on the family whose name doesn't start with an S" Sakura explained, Tsunade laughed again "not a joke, Sasuke actually said that"

"You're kidding" Tsunade said. Sakura shook her head. They both laughed "so how has that scoundrel been treating you?" Sakura glared "What? He _is_ a scoundrel! Look I get your attraction for bad boys, Uchiha boys, I'm guilty of it myself, I tried to warn you, that must have been why I told you the Kagami story"

"Sasuke is great" Sakura shot back.

"Only messing with you dear, he's the Police Captain after all" Tsunade stuck her tongue out, Sakura playfully hit her arm "little Shisui's adorable, too bad he'll become a s _coundrel_ when he grows up"

"Nah Shisui will always be my little angel, won't you Shisui?" she looked at her son. Little Shisui laughed.

"What about the one who's actually a young bad boy type now? I haven't met that one yet"

"Oh right, you haven't met Sakumo yet have you? Let's fix that" Sakura said as she picked up her phone.

 **Hidden Leaf Training Grounds**

"Well, not too bad Uchiha twins, next time we'll get you to dodge actual physical attacks" Hanabi said.

"Looking forward to it" Sarada sarcastically said as she removed the seal.

"Well? Weren't you going to kill me asshole?" Boruto said with a grin.

"That will have to wait douchebag" Sakumo answered as he took his seal off "I know it was you Wasabi"

"Oops, gotta leave guys! See you tonight at the club!" Wasabi said as she ran away.

"Hey!" Sakumo growled. He sighed, he was way too tired for this shit now.

"Anyway, team 7, let's go have dinner at my place before we go out tonight, my mom's cooking!" he grinned.

"You coming tonight Sakumo?" Metal asked him as they were getting their things.

"Yeah, I guess so" he said as he looked at his phone checking his messages.

 **Sakura:** Hey! Can you come home? There's someone special to me I want you to meet and she's in town, I also need you to watch Shisui for a while while I catch up with her over dinner, love!

Sakumo sighed.

"Hey Sarada" Sakumo called out to where team 7 was "Shisui needs to be taken care of for a while tonight"

"No way, it's your turn, I watched over him last time" Sarada responded.

"Shit" he muttered. Well, that didn't work. Looks like he's not having dinner out tonight. He texted back.

 **Sakumo:** I'll be there in 10.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"I'm here" Sakumo said as he closed the door behind him.

"We're in the kitchen!" his mother told him. He took off his shoes.

"Big brother!" little Shisui ran to him to the entrance.

"Hey squirt" he said as he crouched and rubbed his head. He picked him up and walked to the kitchen.

"Well, nice to finally see you" a blonde woman greeted once he entered the kitchen.

"Sakumo, this is-" Sakura spoke before being interrupted.

"Tsunade, the 5th Hokage" he finished before her "I recoginzed you, you know, the mountain monument"

"Oh, right"

"Nice to meet you Lord 5th" Sakumo bowed. Tsunade was shocked, polite Uchihas? Those exist?

"Nice to meet you too kid" she forced herself to answer "maybe this one isn't a scoundrel" she told Sakura.

" _Scoundrel_?" Sakumo raised his eyebrow, only to be ignored.

"Don't let that fool you, Sakumo is an Uchiha to the bone" Sakura said "isn't that right dear? Bad mood all the time, arrogant, the ladies drool over him only for him to tell the to get lost... the classics" Tsunade chuckled "still, he's a pretty sweet boy when he wants to" Sakura pulled Sakumo's bangs to the sides "I've told you a thousand times not to do that with your hair, it makes you look even more mysterious"

"Stop that, mother" Sakumo said as he shook his head so his bangs covered his forehead again.

"It's like you want to hide how handsome you are" Sakura pouted, Sakumo glared.

"He is pretty handsome" Tsunade commented. Sakumo actually looked at Tsunade. She wasn't bad looking herself. He could feel his animal side going crazy about her _boobs_ , he then remembered this was an 80 year old woman and he felt disturbed. He forced that thought out of his head.

"Anyway, as you know I'm going out for dinner with Tsunade, you have salad for dinner"

"No! No veggies!" Shisui complained from Sakumo's arm.

"You have to eat your greens if you want to be as tall as your big brother when you grow up" Sakura told him. "Right Sakumo?" she asked him. Sakumo nodded.

"Okay..." Shisui pouted.

"Both of you behave okay?" Sakura said before tapping their foreheads and heading out with Tsunade.

"Nice to meet you boys, I'll see you around!" Tsunade called out before they left.

"Bye!" Shisui yelled.

 **Ichiraku's**

"Maw, thif if great, juft lif ol timef huh?" Naruto mumbled as he ate ramen.

"And you still have no manners" Sasuke answered. Naruto swallowed so he could free his mouth.

"Come on man, this is like the first time I've eaten anything in days, have some sympathy for me"

"That doesn't mean you can eat like a caveman"

"Lighten up Sasuke! We barely have the time to hang out anyway! This sure brings me back! Back when I was a kid and had all the time in the world! We're just missing Sakura and it will be the perfect nostalgia trip!"

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear" someone said behind them. They turned around.

"Sakura! And Granny Tsunade?! What are you doing here?" he said as he hugged her. Sakura sat next to Sasuke.

"Decided to visit, how are things going Naruto? You sure don't look busy to me" she answered. Naruto's face darkened

"I have an hour and it's back to work, don't remind me" he pouted. Tsunade laughed.

"I warned you" Tsunade said as she sat down "Sasuke" she greeted.

"Tsunade" he nodded back.

"Now that's more like it" Naruto and Sasuke gave her a confused look "I just met your kids, they are so sweet, quite the opposite from you"

"They got that from Sakura I guess" Sasuke shrugged "Shisui?" he asked Sakura.

"Sakumo's watching him" she reassured him.

"So you met Sakumo and Shisui huh? I understand what you mean, so weird to see an Uchiha act so... nice" Naruto said.

"Right?" Tsunade agreed "So... the Sakumo thing... what the hell happened?" she asked.

"As of today... the case remains unsolved" Sasuke answered.

"Officially, Orochimaru was behind it, problem is... no one knows where he is" Naruto got serious.

"I'm afraid this is the official reason I came here" Tsunade answered.

"What?" Sakura asked her.

"Look, I haven't been traveling around the world gambling and drinking my ass off, I've been... watching over things, Orochimaru was one of them. Ever since he disappeared two years ago, things have gone really quiet and I don't like that"

"Maybe he really just died" Sasuke said. Tsunade gave him a condescending look.

"We both know that's not possible. I'm telling you, it's not just Orochimaru, his environment... the underworld, everything is dead silent. That can only mean they're preparing for something, something big is going to happen"

"Are you saying what happened with Sakumo has something to do with this?" Sakura spilled the beans.

"Of course"

"No" Sasuke simply answered.

"What do you mean no?"

"This wasn't Orochimaru" he explained "and the reason of the underworld being quiet is simple, they're right in the open, rallying the smaller nations against the Great Five"

"So what? You're saying war is coming just like that?" Tsunade asked him.

"Not necessarily, we just need to get a certain nation to stop being so aggressive"

"Sasuke, enough, you know relations with the Cloud are messy enough already" Naruto spoke up.

"I've been warning all of you for years and no one listened to me. All this shit they're doing represent all five great nations, and since you're not doing anything about it, you might as well be doing it yourselves" Sasuke defended himself.

"Sasuke" Sakura looked him straight in the eye "not here, not now"

"What is happening in the Hidden Cloud and why is Sasuke so passionate about it?" Tsunade asked Naruto. He sighed.

"Darui and the Land of Lightning think we're going soft, they've dispatched shinobi to smaller nations in order to bring order to the conflicts going on there" Naruto explained.

"I thought all the Five Great Nations were doing that" she said.

"We are, but they... well, Hidden Cloud ninja usually stay there under the pretense of watching over them, and well, the results are there, so we can't say anything about it"

"In other words, they are colonizing more territory, all in the name of peace, but what they're actually doing is expanding the Land of Lightning and creating conflict" Sasuke said.

"Forgive Sasuke, you know his history with the Land of Lightning, and the fact that Hidden Cloud ninja killed Sakumo's adoptive parents, makes him see a connection that's just not there, he sees them as a potential enemy when they are not" Naruto glared at Sasuke. Sasuke was about to protest but he was grabbed by his wife, who shook her head, Sasuke took a deep breath and simply continued to eat his ramen.

"Well... I'm sorry I brought this up, you clearly need a casual dinner and forget about work" Tsunade spoke up after an uncomfortable silence "anyway, is my favourite bar still around?" she asked.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Sakumo collapsed in the couch once he managed to get Shisui to eat his dinner. He was now sitting in the floor peacefully playing with his dinosaur toys. His phone vibrated.

 **Wasabi:** Hey. Can u do me a favor?

 **Sakumo:** I doubt u can help you, it's just a letter.

 **Wasabi:** (¬_¬)

 **Sakumo:** Don't type those stupid things either. Write like a normal person.

 **Wasabi:** Okay Grumpy. Can you help me out or not?

 **Sakumo:** What.

 **Wasabi:** I had a fight with my stupid dad. Can I hang out with you before we go out later tonight?

 **Sakumo:** I'm babysitting my little brother.

 **Wasabi:** Can I come to your place then?

 **Sakumo:** I don't see why not.

 **Wasabi:** Great! I'll be there in half an hour or so ;)

Sakumo was about to scold her again for using a stupid emoji when he was hit by something. One of his brother's toys. He looked at his little brother who was pouting. That was some distance he threw the toy and some accuracy. He was definitely honoring his Uchiha blood and show what he could do later in life with shuriken. Sakumo picked up the dinosaur.

"Did you just throw a parasaurolophus at me?" he asked Shisui.

"Paralosus?" he asked.

"This is a parasaurolophus" he explained as he walked over to him with the toy before picking him up. Sakumo had a thing for dinosaurs as a kid as well.

"That is a stupid name" Shisui laughed.

"Let's get you to bed buddy" he said as he went to his parents room and put him on his little bed. "What is the name of this one?"

"Tritops!" Shisui said.

"Close enough" he picked another one "and this one?"

"T Rex!"

"Yes, good" Sakumo smiled as he put him to sleep playing with the dinosaurs. Once Shisui was asleep, Sakumo went back to the living room and fired up his console.

 **Uzumaki Clan House**

"I don't understand why you boys have fun with that crap" Sarada complained as Boruto and Mitsuki played a shooting video game.

"Who's this DarkFire666? He keeps killing us" Mitsuki asked.

"That's Sakumo, of all people" Boruto explained before he yelled into the microphone "you're fucking camping asshole!" a voice came out from the TV that Sarada recognized as her brother's, saying that no he wasn't, and also making a rude comment about Boruto's sexuality.

"Your brother plays too, why don't you join us Sarada?" Mitsuki asked.

"He's supposed to be taking care of our little brother, that bastard" Sarada said "anyway, it's a hard pass. I'm going to go to Chocho's it's close to that club we're going at midnight, I'll see you there" she said as she took off.

"Whatever suits you" Boruto lazily answered "Damn it!" he yelled as he was shot again.

Sarada sighed, she said goodbye to Hinata and walked towards Chocho's place. It was one of those stupid days, where she thought she could get some time to talk to Boruto, only for him to do stupid stuff and completely ignore her. She had been several years like this. She simply couldn't understand why she cared. Boruto was a fucking idiot, he kept proving that to her time after time, and she somehow still loved him. Unlike her brother would say, Boruto was already a man and he liked girls. She overheard him talk with the guys about how hot some chick was, tits that, ass that, yet it's like he never found _her_ attractive. As much as she didn't want to, it did affect her pride as a woman. She had grown her hair long and started wearing contact lenses for a reason. She should think of herself as an attractive young lady, countless people told her so, but well, she had quite a bitchy personality and boys knew to stay away from her. There was only one person who she wanted to find her attractive anyway, but he didn't as far as she could tell. She was overthinking again and she cursed herself for it. She wished she was like her brother, who yes, might have a weird thing going on with her friend Wasabi,which her mother used as an argument to the contrary, but Sarada truly believed Sakumo just didn't give a shit about romantic stuff. And she wished she could be like that, too. As she walked through the street nearing Chocho's place, she crossed paths with two guys from the Hidden Cloud that gave her a disapproving look. She was used to this, so she ignored it. Something was going on with the Hidden Cloud, some stupid political discussion between Cloud and Leaf, which her father was known to talk about, so it was natural for Hidden Cloud immigrants to think that of her, since she was an Uchiha. The Akimichi clan area had some people from the Land of Lightning living in there, after all, Karui was the wife of the leader of the Akimichi clan. Still, it was all some political bullshit from the adults and it didn't matter, Sarada was an Uchiha from the Leaf and her best friend was half from the Cloud, that proved all the adults wrong. She finally got to her destination and rang the doorbell.

"Hey Sarada!" her best friend answered, she looked beatiful, a misuse of an Akimichi hidden technique some might say, but she used it in her best interests anyway "I know that look"

"Yeah, that idiot again" she answered. Chocho took her hand and dragged her to her room.

"I have had my drama with Mitsuki too, let's bitch about them with some ice cream" she tried to cheer her up "you know what? We're going to have fun tonight and make them see what they're missing out on" Sarada laughed. Sounded like a good plan.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"You shouldn't leave your door unlocked you know, I could be a thief or something" Wasabi said as she entered the house and found Sakumo lying on the couch, playing a videogame.

"If you were a thief you would be dead now" Sakumo casually said while he had his eyes stuck on the TV screen.

"Dear god Sakumo, you always say how all the other guys are total losers and yet here you are, doing the same thing as them, playing that stupid game" Wasabi complained as she sat in the couch with him.

"It's actually pretty fun" he shrugged.

"I thought you were babysitting your brother"

"He's asleep"

"Could you put that thing down and look at me while we talk?" she pouted.

"Match will be over in 5 minutes" he said "shit" he complained.

"This LeafShadow2 has killed you a couple of times" she said.

"It's fucking Boruto" he said, an all too familiar laugh she heard on the TV confirmed it "you can only kill me from the back, like the faggot you are" Wasabi sweatdropped, Sakumo was acting like a stereotypical guy, she rarely got to see that.

" _For the last time dude, I'm not gay, you can ask your mom about last night"_ she heard Boruto answer.

"Mom bashing, so original" Sakumo rolled his eyes.

" _Coming from the guy who keeps saying homophobic shit"_

"I'm not homophobic you idiot, I'm just trying to help you come out of the closet"

" _Sakumo he's not gay, he's totally in love with your sister"_ Wasabi recognized the voice as Mitsuki's.

"What the fuck did you just say snake freak?" Sakumo yelled. The next thing they could hear was Boruto yelling at Mitsuki something incomprehensible, and then the match ended, so the connection died. Wasabi started laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked her.

"Mitsuki has a point" she said.

"What do you mean he has a _point_ " he demanded.

"Oh you sweet innocent boy, you can't see it"

"See _what"_ he demanded again.

"That Boruto and Sarada obviously have a thing for each other"

"No they do not"

"Oh right, your sister and the guy you hate must kill you, so you force yourself to not see it"

"If such a thing was true, I would kill Boruto before he could even touch my sister"

"Sakumo, you are seriously dense when it comes to human relationships"

"Whatever"

"Maybe you project on Boruto because the one who's really gay is you?"

"As if" Sakumo snorted.

"So you're asexual"

"No, if you must know, I'm a regular guy who likes women"

"Oh really? And what women do you like?"

"None of your business"

"Tell me! What kind of woman does an Uchiha find attractive, as a woman myself, I would kill to know the secret" she let out unconsciously. Sakumo thought about those words and something clicked in his mind, he looked at her.

"Did you just say you find me attractive?" he spat out.

"Sakumo, you must be seriously stupid if you don't know that you're handsome, so yes, the female species find you attractive" Wasabi played along, she felt adrenaline running through her system, and she just went with it, if she was lucky, something she deeply desired could happen if she played her cards right.

"I know that" he arrogantly said. He felt the adrenaline rush through him as well, seeing where this was going, so he just went with it too. "don't change the subject, using your logic, since you're a female, you find me attractive"

"Maybe..." she bit her lip "I'll tell you if you tell me who you find attractive"

"Guess" he dared.

"Is it the blonde beauty type?"

"Nah"

"The shy girls then?"

"No"

"Or maybe the exotic type, like Chocho?"

"With no disrespect to my sister's best friend, no" he smirked.

"So what do you find attractive in a girl?" she asked as she got closer.

"I'll give you some hints" he said as he started getting closer as well "I like girls with attitude. Girls that are independent. Girls that can take care of themselves... does that ring a bell?"

"Maybe" she said as she looked away. She was having so much fun with this teasing game. "Do you like a girl in particular?" she asked. She could feel her heart beating heavily, and she liked it.

"Yes" he smirked. He was feeling just like her and liking it just as much.

"Do I know this girl?"

"You should"

"Is this girl..." she couldn't take it anymore, she looked at him "me?" Sakumo simply smirked and lost control of himself, he threw himself at her and kissed her on the lips. Wasabi simply closed her eyes and kissed him in return. Before they knew it, their tongues were wrestling with each other. They had to gasp for air "Okay, so you're definitely straight" she said before he kissed her again "if this is your payback for earlier I'll make sure to throw rocks at you more often" she said when they had to stop again.

"Just shut up" he said before kissing her again. Wasabi stroked his hair and Sakumo introduced his hand below her shirt and caressing her breasts. Wasabi let out a moan that caused Sakumo to kiss her even more passionately. Wasabi went further as well, sliding her hands under his shirt and feeling his torso.

Their moment was abruptly cut short. Both immediately stopped and separated from each other when they heard the sound of the door opening.

"I'm back!" they heard Sakura say.

"Be cool" Sakumo whispered, Wasabi took a deep breath and nodded.

"Oh hey, Wasabi, good to see you here!" she said as she entered the living room and saw both sitting on the couch.

"Hi Mrs. Uchiha! We are going to a club later and I heard Sakumo was babysitting, so I came over so he doesn't have to go alone" she said, like nothing happened. Sakumo suppressed a smirk. He just found her more attractive all of a sudden, if such a thing was possible.

"Isn't that sweet of you, thank you for making Sakumo be more social, you know how he is" she laughed.

"The 5th Hokage!?" Wasabi gasped as she saw Tsunade.

"Yes, who is this sweet young lady?" Tsunade asked.

"This is Wasabi, Kiba and Tamaki's daughter, a friend of my kids" Sakura introduced her.

"It's my honor to meet you Lady Tsunade, I've always looked up to you!" Wasabi fangirled. _Okay, that's not so attractive_ Sakumo thought. He could tease her about it later, though.

"Thank you" Tsunade smiled.

"How's Shisui?" Sakura asked.

"He's already fast asleep" Sakumo answered.

"Good, anyway when are you leaving? It's half past eleven" Sakura said.

"Well,we should leave now then" Wasabi announced.

"Sure, let's go" Sakumo said as he got up.

"Have fun! Dirnk responsibly! And don't come back too late Sakumo!" Sakura said as they left.

"What was _that_?" Tsunade grinned.

"I think it's pretty obvious" Sakura grinned back.

"Such a fine young lady, just like us, the next generation chasing after the bad boys, we should talk to her"

"Knock it off" Sakura laughed.

 **Club on the Outskirts of the Leaf**

The Hidden Leaf chunin were partying, they had been waiting weeks, they finally had a night off the let loose. Boruto, Metal Lee, Inojin, Sarada and Chocho were dancing to loud music. They had a couple of drinks, were a bit drunk and having fun.

Sarada and Boruto were particularly close, dancing with each other, the others gave them some space to see if something finally happened between them. Chocho went to the bar and dragged Mitsuki to dance with her. Metal Lee was just there dancing on his own, the alcohol made his stage freight go away and it was a sight to be seen. He was a pretty good dancer and a crowd gathered around him to cheer him on, with even some girls dancing with him.

Shikadai just sat in the back where the music wasn't so loud, where he observed and drank a beer in peace. Inojin sat down next to him, catching a break. They recognized Sakumo and Wasabi finally in there, they were late. Shikadai's eyes stayed on Sakumo, who ordered a whiskey and cola, and made his way to sit down with him, as he knew he would, Sakumo wasn't very fond of dancing with crowds either. Sakumo and Shikadai became friends, after all, they were very alike. Intelligent introverted boys, Sakumo even shared Shikadai's laziness, which passed as arrogance more often than not. Inojin was also cool with Sakumo sitting down with them, their mothers were best friends and they spent a lot of time with each other, so they became friends out of a necessary convenience. Both Shikadai and Inojin were shocked to see Sakumo down his drink in almost one gulp.

"Dude are you okay?" Inojin asked him, Sakumo looked troubled. The truth is, he was. The walk to the club with Wasabi was awkward. Once they cooled down and thought about what happened they didn;t know what to do. They were teammates. This was weird. Not wrong, after all, his parents used to be teammates to, still, he felt he crossed a line he shouldn't have. Apparently it was mutual, since Wasabi could only offer some awkward small talk, feeling weird herself.

Sakumo wasn't answering, but Shikadai was observing and he started to catch on. He arrived late with Wasabi. He looked at her, who was talking to Chocho.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up" Chocho spoke a bit loudly so she could hear her. She saw Wasabi was drinking pretty fast "woah, slow down there cowgirl, what's the matter?"

"Where's Sarada?" Wasabi asked.

"She's dancing there with Boruto" Chocho pointed at them.

"Good, I don't know if I can tell her..." she said "listen, _something_ happened between me and Sakumo"

"What?"

"We just made out at his house... like, hard"

"You go girl!" Chocho was pleasantly surprised.

"Don't be so loud okay! This isn't good!... I think"

"Why not? You two obviously like each other"

"Obviously?"

"Come on, you're pretty much the only girl in the world that he tolerates, and you're constantly teasing him, you're made for each other"

"But!... we're teammates!"

"And? Sakumo's parents were teammates"

"Yeah but they're married! And I don't know, things will become... weird"

"You mean like you want him to be your boyfriend or something?"

"I don't know... maybe?"

"You are so in love with him!" Chocho squealed.

"Keep it down!" Wasabi blushed.

"Listen, you have to talk to him about it, get things settled, you need closure, this can't just stay in a random kiss"

"I guess you're right" Wasabi sighed.

The conversation was observed by Shikadai, he couldn't hear a thing, but he was able to make out some words trying to read their lips, he saw Wasabi blushing, she arrived late with Sakumo, something clicked in his mind.

"Sakumo you dog, you fucked Wasabi didn't you?" he said aloud. Inojin spat his drink.

"What? No" he answered. Inojin sighed.

"I knew it, there's no fucking way you did something with a chick" Inojin started laughing. He stopped laughing when he saw the other two's expressions.

"But something did happen, didn't it?" Shikadai insisted.

"Yeah, we did... stuff" he confessed.

"Dude... how far?" Inojin asked.

"Second base" he said holding two fingers "and I'm sure it would have gone a lot further if my mother didn't interrupt us" Shikadai's and Inojin's jaws dropped.

"I know why you didn't fuck" Shikadai said after a while "it's because you have to wait and properly _make love_ to her, you're head over heels over her" he smirked.

"What the hell are you on about?" he asked.

"She's the only girl that doesn't annoy you, you should totally lock her down dude, for real" Inojin said.

"You know what? Fuck you both, I shouldn't have told you shit" Sakumo got up and left, both started laughing their asses off.

Boruto was dancing with Sarada and he felt someone poke his shoulder, he turned around.

"DENKI!" he drunkenly cheered "What the hell are you doing here bro!"

"I came to check this club out, what are the odds!" he yelled so Boruto could hear him "listen, I'm here with these girls" he pointed at a group of girls who waved and smiled at Boruto "wanna hang out for a while?" he asked.

"You bet your ass I do!" Boruto completely ignored Sarada and went with Denki. Sarada felt furious. Fucking Boruto.

"Uh oh" Chocho said as she saw Sarada storm to the bathroom "I'll go check on Sarada" she said "talk to Sakumo!" she said before going to the bathroom as well. Wasabi sighed and looked for him, he was at the bar, ordering a drink, she took a deep breath and went over to him, she poked his shoulder.

"Hey..." she awkwardly said.

"Hey..." he returned the same gesture.

"We should talk, wanna go outside?"

"Yeah... we should..." he agreed as they both went outside, so they could talk without music deafening them.

"Listen, about what happened earlier at your place..." she started once they were alone and no one could disturb them "I don't know what to say... it was... weird"

"Yeah, it was weird" he agreed.

"Why did we do that?" she asked.

"Because we like each other" he answered.

"Yeah... we do" she blushed "but this is wrong, we're teammates"

"It's not wrong" he said.

"Isn't it? We're teammates, think of how weird things will be now"

"Yeah... that is the problem. But it wasn't _wrong_ , it's stupid to say that we haven't had... something for each other since the very beginning. Before we were even teammates"

"You're right about that..." she thought "I would have never expected that you'd be better at this than me" she laughed.

"I'm not good at this, I'm as freaked out as you are" he told her.

"Yeah, I guess it's because of how cool and collected you are... it's one of the things I like about you" she admitted. He could only offer a small smile in return "what do we do now? With this?" she asked.

"I have no idea..." he said "I guess we need time to think"

"Yeah..." she agreed.

While Wasabi and Sakumo were leaning on a side sorting things out, Sarada and Chocho came out of the club as well. They went to the other side of the building, none of the two pairs would notice each other.

"I swear that fucking idiot" Sarada fumed "we're there having a good time, dumps me for some stupid bimbos"

"I don't know what to do to help Sarada..." Chocho tired to clam her down

"He just doesn't like me doesn't he?"

"From what I can tell, I think he does"

"Then why won't he just ask me out? How many hints do I have to drop?"

"Maybe that's the problem Sarada. Boys are just so stupid, they can't get a hint to save their own lives... have you considered just telling him directly?"

"You mean why don't _I_ ask _him_ out?" Sarada asked.

"Well... yeah" Chocho nodded.

"Girls don't ask guys out, it's the other way around"

"I don't think you're holding on to some stupid tradition. I think the problem is that, as the Uchiha you are, you are far too stubborn to just confess anything to him, not even yourself for that matter. You're always telling me how you don't want to have these feelings, but you can't fight them, look at how pissed off you are right now!" Chocho told her. Sarada stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

"You know... you're right" Sarada said "yeah, I'll just tell him, I have to, this is driving me nuts and it's the only way out of it!"

"Exactly! And I can assure you he'll feel the same way! Unlike me, I have my eyes on a guy who has no clues about human emotion to begin with" she said as she hugged Sarada.

"To be fair Chocho, you always change your mind about guys. You should just move on to the next, I mean come on, you deserve far better" Sarada laughed.

"Yeah I do, I deserve someone perfect, too bad your brother's taken..." she though aloud.

"Huh?" Sarada asked. Chocho realized she fucked up.

"Hey pretty girls, can we buy you a drink?" someone said. Chocho felt saved, or not, they were so not in the mood of being hit on right now.

"No thank you" Sarada said with a very bitchy tone. She turned around and recognized the men, they were the same guys she saw before getting to Chocho's.

"Oh... it's you, nevermind, I wouldn't want nothing to do with you anyway" one of them said. Sarada felt like saying fine and moving on, but it didn't stop there.

"Chocho what are you doing with this bitch? She's an Uchiha!" one of them said.

"Hey watch it, she's my best friend" Chocho stood in between.

"So you betray your own people for an Uchiha whore!?" one of them yelled.

In the other side of the building, Sakumo and Wasabi were still talking.

"But you know... if I'm being honest, it sucks to wait, I just feel like picking it back up where we left off right now..." Wasabi blushed. Sakumo smiled but a yell distracted him.

"...Uchiha whore!" he heard. He didn't need to hear more. Someone was insulting his sister, he was going to teach this punk a lesson.

"Sakumo! Wait!" Wasabi pleaded as she ran after him.

"That's enough, both of you should leave" Chocho warned.

"Don't you know who her father is? He is a war criminal! An enemy of our people! You are a traitor!"

"That enemy of your people is your police captain, moron" Sarada spoke up, these assholes were starting to seriously piss her off.

"I know right? This is how fucked up this village is! A criminal is in charge of the police here!"

"Why don't you fuck off back to the Land of Lightning then" a voice spoke behind them.

"Sakumo" Sarada and Chocho exclaimed. Things were about to get really ugly.

"Oh and here's the other one! The spitting image of Madara and Sasuke Uchiha! The heir to the clan of evil!"

"Shut the hell up" Sakumo threatened.

"Why? We're just preaching the truth here!" one of them defied.

"No, you're harassing my friend and sister, so last warning, get the fuck out of here"

"Oh so you're just mad we're calling your sister a whore? Guess what? Your mother's a whore too! Any woman related to the Uchiha is a whore!"

"If you insult them one more time..." Sakumo hissed.

"Your mother and sister are Uchiha whores!" the other yelled right in his face. Before they knew it, they were on the ground, screaming in pain.

"I should fucking kill you!" Sakumo yelled.

"Sakumo! Stop it!" The three girls held him back.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Kiba Inuzuka appeared.

"Dad... these guys started insulting Sarada for being an Uchiha, and Sakumo just... snapped" Wasabi explained. Kiba checked on the two cloud ninja on the ground.

"Broken arm... broken leg... jesus, someone call an ambulance" Kiba spoke.

"Sakumo... you shouldn't have..." Sarada said.

"They got off easy" Sakumo protested "I won't let scumbags like this talk to you like that!"

"I can take care of myself Sakumo! I don't know why you care so much about idiots saying stupid shit!"

"Because!" Sakumo honestly didn't know what to say. He just felt that passionately about it.

"Young man... I'm sorry, but I have to take you to Police HQ, you hurt them pretty bad"

"Whatever" Sakumo just didn't care at this point.

"Dad, can't you please cut him some slack?" Wasabi pleaded.

"I have to do my job, doll" he told his daughter as he cuffed Sakumo "you stink of alcohol, your father's going to kill you" Kiba said as he took Sakumo away.

Sarada, Chocho and Wasabi stood there as medical ninjas tended to the two cloud ninja who were passed out now. What the hell did just happen.

 _To be continued..._

 _These last chapters have been longer than usual, hope that's a win for you. I,m already working on the next one, hopefully, it shouldn't take too long._

 _See y'all next time._


	13. The truth

**Uchiha Clan House**

Sarada was woken up by something poking her face. She grunted, she got home late last night and felt a bit hungover, there was no way in hell she was getting up and she was going back to sleep. Something touched her face again, and she heard a giggle. She opened her eyes to see other eyes staring at her.

"Big sister, wake up!" Shisui smiled.

"Shisuiiiii, just let me sleep, pleaaaaaase" she whined as she buried her head under her pillow.

"You're such a sleepyhead!" Shisui pouted, he would have to resort to the big guns, he crawled on top of her and started jumping "you have to wake up! Mommy told me to wake you up!"

"Okay okay, I'm up!" Sarada yelled as she woke up and picked Shisui up so he stopped "why you... you know, you're lucky you're so cute" normally she would be pissed and beat the shit out of anyone who would do this to her, but she just loved her baby brother way too much. Shisui simply laughed which caused Sarada to give him a big hug, he was so adorable. She looked at the clock, 12 p.m. Shisui actually let her sleep a lot, he would always wake her up at 9. She put her brother down, who ran downstairs, while she went to the bathroom.

"I woke big sister up" Shisui proudly announced as he entered the kitchen.

"Good boy" Sakura smiled "what about your brother?"

"He's not home" Shisui shrugged.

"Huh? Then where is he?" she asked as she helped him up to his kitchen stool.

"He did go out last night didn't he?" Tsunade said after sipping some coffee "maybe he... you know... scored?" she offered.

"What? No way, he's not like that" Sakura said. That was just impossible... right? Then again, he was already 18, and she did feel something going on when she arrived last night and saw him with Wasabi. Now that she thought about it, the thought of her son having sex terrified her, she had never even given him the talk. What if that reckless son of hers didn't use protection? What if he got Wasabi pregnant? Dear god, she couldn't even think of that. She didn't even notice her daughter walking in as she imagined the worst scenarios.

"Good morning" she said "Tsunade!?" she gasped as she saw their guest.

"Sarada! Look at you! You sure have grown since I last saw you!" Tsunade said as she hugged her "You look much prettier with long hair! And what happened to your glasses?"

"Contact lenses" Sarada answered

"I see..." she remembered what Shisui told her the previous day and looked at her forehead "when did you get this?" she asked her as she touched her forehead.

"Oh, I finally awakened it a couple of months ago" she proudly announced.

"Good for you!" she smiled, feeling proud of her "looks like my pupil has taught you well" she said looking at Sakura, who was on her own world, still thinking about what Tsunade said earlier, Tsunade sighed "by the way, where's your brother? Shisui said he's not home... did he go spend the night at a young lady's house or something?" she winked.

"Please tell me she's wrong" Sakura spoke up.

"Oh..." Sarada's face darkened as she remembered the events of the previous night "he got into some trouble... long story short, Kiba took him to the police station"

"What!?" Sakura yelled, frankly, this was even worse "what happened?"

"Some hidden cloud shinobi showed up, they started calling me..." she restrained herself from saying bad words in front of Shisui "bad things because I'm an Uchiha, Sakumo showed up, they got into an argument that quickly turned physical and he beat them up"

"Not that again..." Sakura sadly responded.

" _Again_?" Tsunade asked.

"A couple of months ago, some kids vandalized my office's window writing Uchiha" she covered Shisui's eyes as she mouthed the word 'whore' "Sakumo found them, confronted them and beat them up, too"

"Wow..." Tsunade sighed "he does know you girls are more than capable of standing up for yourselves right?"

"Yeah..." Sakura sighed "I mean, Sarada and I are used to that, that there's a handful of kids that resent the Uchiha, but we're able to just let it go and nothing happens. Sakumo just takes it very personally for some reason"

"How are the shinobi he beat?" Tsunade asked Sarada.

"They'll be just fine, medical ninja patched them up fast" Sarada answered.

"Well... at least now I know he's with his father" Sakura sighed again "I'm going to call Sasuke"

 **Police HQ Cells**

Sakumo sat down in the floor of his cell, patiently waiting, eyes closed and sort of meditating. He was calm and accepted the consequences for his actions last night, still, he did not regret what he did. Spending the night in a cell was worth it, if it meant he punished an action that normally would go unpunished. The sound of the cell's door opening snapped him out of his trance.

"Here" Jugo said as he let him out of the cell and handed him back his belongings

"Am I free to go?" he asked.

"Not yet, your father wants to talk to you first" Jugo answered.

"Of course" Sakumo sighed as he followed Jugo to the captain's office.

"I don't want to lecture you, but you can't lose control like that" Jugo spoke up.

"I don't know Jugo, they just started yelling at my face and the next thing I know I kick one guy's knee, catch the arm of the other who tries to retaliate and subdue them fast, I could have actually hurt them worse"

"You can't just beat people up for saying things you don't like. You can restrain yourself from acting out in rage, I can assure you that from experience"

"I know you're trying to help and I appreciate it Jugo, but it sounds like my father is going to give me this lecture and I'd rather hear it just once"

"Alright" Jugo nodded as they arrived and opened the door for him. Sakumo walked into the office to see his father giving him a disapproving look.

"What the hell is wrong with you boy" Sasuke demanded.

"I couldn't let them say those things about mother and Sarada" he defended himself.

"It doesn't matter what a couple of exchange shinobi say about your family" Sasuke spoke up "and if you can't let it go, you just insult them back, not beat them up"

"It _does_ matter, those idiots got healed up and slept safe and sound, with the difference that know they know better than walking up to my sister and say that shit to her face"

"You are expected to join the police force soon, and it won't happen if you keep getting arrested for doing this crap, do you understand that?"

"What's the point of joining if I'm just going to allow such injustices fly?"

"An idiot saying stupid shit is not a crime"

"It's not just _one_ idiot, they are too many, I am sick of people saying such things about our clan, especially when mother and sister get called those names when they don't deserve that"

"We've been over this Sakumo, some people dislike the Uchiha and we just can't do anything about it, save making it worse pulling stupid stunts such as yours"

"No we haven't" Sakumo raised his voice as well "because I don't actually know why they say such things about me! You know what one of them said to me? He called me the heir to the clan of evil, the spitting image of you and Madara Uchiha! Who the hell is Madara and why would they think you are _evil_?" Sasuke rubbed his temple and had to sit down. He was rather taken aback by Sakumo getting angry and confronting him with these questions. Sakumo would just keep everything to himself, which he must have taken after him. Sarada would be the one to ask the questions. _Why is our brother named after someone who committed suicide? Uncle Itachi was an Akatsuki, was he a criminal? I noticed that you and Lord 7_ _th_ _lost your arms, did you do that to each other? Did you fight for the other side in the last war? Were you an Akatsuki too?_ Both kids were not dumb and were starting to figure things out, making it very difficult for Sasuke to keep hiding the truth from them.

"Sakumo" he said "believe me, I would really like to tell you everything, but you just keep proving to me that you're simply not ready to know it yet"

"Why?"

"Because if _this_ is what you do knowing what you know now, there's no telling what you would do if you knew the truth" Sakumo could tell that his father was actually sad.

"I'm sorry father..." he said "I just think that if I knew the truth I would maybe understand and handle what they say better"

"Look, I promised you I would tell you, and I will" Sasuke told his son "I'm just asking you to show me that you've earned it. You are a legal adult now, in no time you will be part of the Leaf's police, not to mention all the responsibilities that will come after, being the heir of the Uchiha clan. I need you to focus and stop acting like a reckless teenager, you know I'm your father and I'm just trying to guide you the right way"

"I know" Sakumo nodded "I promise you I will stop attacking them... I just don't know, it makes me so mad to hear them insult mother and sister, me, I can handle, even you since you're the captain and all... but the rest of our family..."

"Your mother and sister can take care of themselves, they don't need you to defend their honor, and I insist, only idiots dare to disrespect such wonderful kunoichi"

"I guess so..." Sakumo nodded.

"I assume you learned the lesson and I won't have to give you this lecture again" Sakumo nodded "good, now let's go home, you gave your mother a serious scare, you stupid boy" Sasuke said as both left.

 **Uchiha Clan House**

Shisui ran to the entrance as he heard the door open, knowing who just arrived. He saw both his father and brother, they looked kind of angry. Still, Sasuke couldn't help but smile every time he saw his little son run towards him, that plus Shisui not seeing Sasuke for 2 days, made him decide run to his father first.

"Daddy!" Shisui said as his father picked him up.

"Hey Shisui" he smiled again as he tapped his forehead.

"How was work daddy? Did you catch many bad guys?"

"You know there is no bad guy in this world that can run past your old man" Sasuke smirked. Shisui smiled.

"Lunch is ready!" they heard Sakura's voice from the kitchen. Sasuke put Shisui down on his stool while Sakumo sat down. Sasuke sat down and greeted his daughter who was already there "it's been so long since all of us had a meal together" Sakura said as she sat down as well "are you alright?" she asked Sakumo, who simply nodded "is he in much trouble?" she turned her attention to Sasuke.

"I think he learned his lesson" Sasuke answered as he began eating his lunch.

"Seriously Sakumo, this is your second strike, if you do this again I won't let you off so easily" Sakura scolded "which doesn't mean you get away free this time young man, you have lost your console privileges indefinitely"

"I'm 18, you don't have to treat me like a teenager" Sakumo sighed.

"Then act like it" Sakura simply answered. Shisui and Sarada studied their brother, they could feel something was off with him.

"Next time, just leave it to me, I don't need my brother protecting me, I'm a pretty strong kunoichi if you haven't noticed" Sarada said.

"Don't worry, I promised I won't attack idiots who insult you again..." Sakumo lazily answered "even if they're hidden cloud scum"

"That's enough with the hidden cloud, I've had it, with both of you" Sakura said looking at Sakumo and Sasuke "we have a perfect word for you two, racists, and this stops now, Karui is one of my closest friends and Chocho is Sarada's best friend, so you two better quit it" she lectured "he must get that from you, I told you to stop talking about politics, especially in front of the kids" she scolded her husband.

"I didn't get that from father" Sakumo declared "I have a pretty good reason to hate the hidden cloud"

"Which is?" Sakura asked him.

"Hidden cloud ninja killed my adoptive parents" he said, everyone went silent "yes, I know about that, despite your efforts for me to never find out about it"

"How did you... find out?" Sakura asked him, worry now palpable in her tone.

"I always knew, knew the symbol of their headbands, figured out it was the hidden cloud pretty soon after that"

"We're sorry we didn't tell you son..." Sakura apologized "we were just trying to protect you"

"Protect me from what? Revenge?" he asked.

"Yes..." Sakura admitted.

"Well don't, I want to avenge them, and I will" he announced.

"No, you won't" Sasuke spoke up.

"You don't get to tell me what to do, stop lying to me and then maybe I'll listen to your lectures" Sakumo said as he stood up and stormed off.

"Is big brother okay?" Shisui asked, almost sobbing.

"That brat is definitely my son alright..." Sasuke sighed "I'll handle this" he said as he stood up.

"Honey... be tactful with him, please..." Sakura pleaded. Sasuke nodded and left. Sarada just stood there silent. She was surprised. Sakumo never confronted their parents about this stuff, unlike her. Still, she had to respect him because he had the balls to do something that she could never bring herself to, calling them outright liars and showing discontent about it.

 **Hidden Leaf Train Station**

Sakumo just sat on a bench of the closest train station to his house. He needed to be alone and just cool off. He didn't even understand why he was so moody today. He thought about it. Maybe what he did with Wasabi last night. No, that made him feel happy, and his gut told him that he simply wasn't allowed to feel happy. It must have something to do with what happened last night at the club then. He had to admit it, there was something about the "clan of evil" line that set him off. He wasn't evil, quite the opposite, he wanted to fight and defeat evil. And well... the possibility of his father, or his family for that matter, being evil and him not knowing about it, was something that deeply disturbed him.

"Is this what you call hiding?" he heard his father say, who stood next to him.

"I don't want to be hidden, just left alone" he said.

"You didn't let me finish" Sasuke said as he sat down next to his son.

"Didn't need you to"

"You and I need to have a conversation" Sasuke spoke up after some seconds of silence "about revenge"

"Why? What could you possibly tell me to help me? You don't understand what I'm going through" Sakumo complained. Sasuke just stared at him, Sakumo was the spitting image of himself decades ago, this must have been how Kakashi saw him back then, and now he was in his spot, ironic. Sasuke thought about what to say, what Kakashi could have said to avoid what would happen next.

"Actually, son, a whole lot" Sasuke finally answered. Sakumo raised an eyebrow "you must have figured out that our clan was massacred a long time ago, and that me and your uncle were the only survivors" Sakumo nodded "I was 7 years old, and I witnessed first hand how my entire family was murdered. My parents, my uncle and aunt, everyone I cared about, I saw them all die in front of me, in one terrible night"

"I..." Sakumo said, shocked "I didn't know..."

"Of course you don't, it's one of the things I've been hiding from you... anyway, I think you must have an idea of what I vowed to do after that"

"Avenge them"

"Exactly" Sasuke nodded.

"And did you? Did you avenge them?" Sakumo asked him.

"Yes, I avenged them" Sasuke answered.

"...And how does it feel?" Sakumo mustered the courage to ask.

"I'm not going to lie to you, son" Sasuke said while looking to the sky "it feels right, once you kill the person responsible for your loss, you feel that justice has finally been served" he said "but..."

"But?"

"Sakumo, I know exactly how you feel. I could tell you what everyone says, _revenge won't bring them back, you'll feel empty once you get it_ and all that, but since I actually know first hand, I'll tell you what it's really like" Sasuke took a deep breath "revenge is like a drug. You keep finding more people that have to pay for what happened, you simply need to see others suffer for their wrongdoings... before you know it, absolutely everyone is responsible for what happened to you, and you will want them to pay too. You get lost in a dark place that has no exit... but that's not the worst part"

"What is the worst part then?"

"As I said, I know how you feel better than everyone. I know that revenge isn't selfish, quite the opposite" Sakumo nodded, exactly, that's how he felt "you're doing this for your loved ones, because they died when they shouldn't have... but you forget, what about your living loved ones? They have to see you destroy yourself, and you hurt them..."

"How do you hurt them?"

"Sakumo, revenge is fighting fire with fire... you become a bad person, even if it's to hurt another person, you're still a bad person"

"What do you mean?"

"You told me before you were concerned of me being evil in the past... there is truth to that statement, I hurt other people, because I considered they had to pay for your grandfather's and your clan's death"

"How are you evil if you're doing justice?"

"Justice? Vengeance is not justice" Sasuke said. Just like Kakashi told him over and over "maybe you don't see it, let me explain. Let's say you succeed and kill the men you're looking for. But then, you find out they were hired by other people, so you kill them too. And then you find more people related to that, so you kill them too. You have quite the body count on your shoulders in this scenario, which means that the relatives of the people you killed will want to avenge them by killing you. Either they kill you or you kill them, the desire for vengeance is everywhere, and you have a ton of people trying to kill each other. That isn't justice Sakumo. That is war. And in war, lots of people die because of the stupidest reasons"

"I see your point father but... why would someone want to avenge bad people?"

" _Good_ and _bad_ are subjective concepts more often than not Sakumo... your hero is most certainly someone else's villain, and vice versa" Sasuke explained. Sakumo thought about it. He was right. His parents would have most certainly hurt others, intentionally or not "anyway this is a philosophical debate that you'll have to think about for days... the reason why I want you to not pursue revenge, is your loved ones. Think of your sister, your brother, your mother. They will have to see you do bad things and you will hurt them, not to mention that you will hurt others on the way, and they may hurt them to get to you, you are putting them in danger"

"I see..." Sakumo let out as his view of the world had just drastically changed. His father was a very wise man and he felt stupid to dare to challenge him earlier "did you hurt your loved ones?"

"Of course I did" Sasuke nodded "I broke your mother's heart son... and not a single day goes by in which I'm not grateful for her finding the strength to forgive me" he confessed "forgiveness is also important, thanks to forgiveness, you are here in this world"

"Forgiveness..." Sakumo said as he thought about his father's words.

"Have I changed your mind?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes" Sakumo answered. He was 100 % honest and Sasuke saw that. He smiled "even so... I need to know. Why did your... my family die? Who killed them?" Sasuke looked at his son, he could see in his eyes that he was the exact opposite from the argument they had hours ago. He wasn't seeking the answers to avenge, he was seeking the answers to _understand._ He was finally ready.

"I'm not telling you..." he said as he stood up "I'm showing you. Your sister too, let's go back home".

 **Uchiha Clan House**

"Daddy! Big brother!" Shisui cried as he saw them enter the house "are you fighting?" he asked, his face wet from crying.

"Hey, don't cry son" Sasuke said with a smile as he picked him up from Sakura's arms "you know your dad and brother love each other right?" Shisui looked up at him, then at Sakumo, who smiled at him, Shisui stopped crying and smiled

"So it went well?" Sakura said as Sasuke put Shisui back in her arms, she was so glad.

"Yes, better than well, actually" Sasuke answered.

"What's with the happy faces?" Sarada said as she saw her brother and father with the opposite expressions they left with.

"Sarada... Sakumo has made me see that it's time" Sarada's mouth opened on its own "it's time for both of you to know the history of our clan"

"Really?" she asked. She could hardly believe it.

"Yes, go wait by the basement, I have to talk to your mother first" Sasuke said. Both nodded.

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked her husband.

"Yes... I told Sakumo about my experience with revenge... so there's no going back now..."

"And what did he say?"

"I think I reached to him, he understands now, he sees everything differently"

"Really?" Sakura smiled "and what did you say that made him change his mind?"

"Quite simple really... you, Sarada, Shisui... his family"

"I told you, he's Sarada's brother, our son, love outweighs hate"

"Yeah... now I can only hope they understand what they see..."

"They will honey, what did I just say?" Sakura asked him. Shisui just looked at both of them, again, he had no idea what the adults were saying. "Trust them, they're your blood, you can trust them more than me"

"I'm actually rooting for your blood, not mine" Sasuke smirked.

"You're so silly" Sakura rolled her eyes before giving him a quick kiss on the lips "now go show them, guess it's time for our kids to finally become adults" Sasuke nodded as he went to where his son and daughter were.

Sasuke opened the basement's door and Sarada and Sakumo followed him, going down the stairs, they were never in the basement anyway, there was nothing there, why would he take them here? Sasuke made a gesture with his hand and the room was lit by candles. Cool, they thought, but still, nothing there. They watched his father bite his thumb and perform a summoning jutsu. After the smoke dissipated, there was finally something in their basement. Looks he was hiding things from them that they couldn't even think about.

"The Uchiha Stone tablet" Sarada said as she saw what was teleported to their basement "I thought it was in the outskirts of the village" she said as she remembered seeing it there.

"You don't seriously think I would leave the real thing out in the open do you?" Sasuke asked her "here, now that you know, you can summon it too" Sasuke said as he handed them the contract. They knew what to do, Sarada had a contract with slugs passed on by Sakura, Sakumo had one with hawks passed on by Sasuke. They bit their thumbs and signed with their blood, their father's and their mother's signatures being the only other ones in there.

"This one has things written on it, but I can't read them" Sakumo pointed out as he studied the stone.

"Only an Uchiha can read what this stone says" Sasuke answered. Sakumo and Sarada caught on and activated their sharingan, finally being able to make out what the texts said.

"I can only read about half of it" Sarada spoke up. Sakumo had an idea and went a level beyond.

"I can read more with the Mangekyo activated, but I can't read all of it" he said. Sasuke simply pointed at his left eye, of course, the Rinnegan.

"But these texts talk about ancient history, hidden jutsu... valuable information sure, but not what we want to know" Sarada said.

"In a moment..." Sasuke explained "the fact that I'm showing you this, means that I consider you adults and I'm entrusting you with the secrets of our clan, for now, this spot is where we keep them, so this is a fine spot for me to show you everything"

" _Show?"_ Sarada asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I'm going to show you everything by putting you under a genjutsu" he explained "you will see with your own eyes how my life was like, all the answers that you seek are there... you will see me doing bad things, all the mistakes I made... I want you to try to understand everything... it's hard to explain, so I will just show you" Sasuke said as he walked close to them and put his arms on their shoulders "while we're at it, I will also show you the day you were born, since you know we still don't know what happened that day, I ask you to study those memories, see if you can figure out what happened, you probably won't be able to, but it's worth a try" the twins nodded and gulped, they were actually nervous "now, it's going to take a while for you to see everything, unlike my brother, I can't control time in a genjutsu, so both of you will be out for a while, by my estimations, about 3 days. Don't worry, I'll handle everything for you, such as being summoned for missions and all that" Sasuke reassured "now... are both of you ready?" he asked. Sarada and Sakumo nodded "alright, deactivate your visual prowess" he commanded, they did as told "and look at my eyes" Sasuke said as his mangekyo sharingan and rinnegan came to life, the twins looked at his eyes only to faint the instant their eyes made contact with his. Sasuke caught them both so they didn't just hit the ground. He put them down carefully. He got some pillows and put them under their heads so they would be comfortable.

Sasuke took a deep breath as he exited the room, he wished his children could see and understand what his life was like, he feared them resenting him after that. Even if it went well with Sakura in the past, you never know. Still, he had to trust them. Only time could tell. As he made his way out of the basement up the stairs, he made another hand gesture and the room went dark again, a _poof_ sound indicated the tablet left as well.

 _To be continued..._


	14. Ghosts from the Past

_How's it going everyone, chapter 14 is finally here._

 _We are entering a different format, as you know, Sarada and Sakumo were put under a genjutsu last chapter, this means that we're finally getting close to a part of the story that I really wanted to write, we are revisiting the past. Now don't worry, I am pretty much skipping over the events of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, we've all seen that I think lol. However, I will address a couple of key scenes, I guess it could be said that I am sort of retconing some stuff, but I am doing this to make the Sasuke and Sakura romance work much better than it does in canon, at least in my opinion. You'll see what I mean when the time comes, don't worry, their story is just around the corner, so bear with me._

 _Anyway, in this chapter we will be jumping from the past to the present, seeing the past through the eyes of Sarada and Sakumo, and see what Sasuke and Sakura are up to in the present simultaneously, just making that clear in case someone might get confused. That said, I'll stop rambling and get to the good stuff._

 **The Past**

Right after looking into Sasuke's eyes, the twins felt like they were transported into another dimension. After feeling a bit of dizziness and regaining their consciousness, they realized they were in a house. In a kitchen, to be more specific. They had never been here before, and what was even weirder, is that they could see each other, but they couldn't communicate. They saw the back of a little kid sitting down in the table, and tried to catch his attention only to fail. They looked at the kid, at first they thought it was their little brother Shisui, since he had the same spiky dark hair and a similar length. A closer look made them realize this was not their little brother, since this kid was older. Something clicked in their minds and they realized this was their father when he was a young boy. They could have never guessed that Shisui inherited the spiky hair from Sasuke, since his hair was now pretty straight much like theirs had been their entire lives.

A woman with black hair entered the room and walked right _through_ them, it was like they were ghosts. Now they realized what their father meant when he told them he would show them, they would experience the events in first person, but of course, they could not actually do anything here. Once they understood what was happening, they simply looked at the woman, who began cooking while humming a song. This was the first time they had ever seen their grandmother, and both were surprised, it was like Sarada was growing up to resemble her grandma, they looked so similar with long hair. She was so beautiful, and had a big smile on her that was heartwarming. The woman looked at young Sasuke while humming, and young Sasuke returned the smile. Then they realized something. They could feel the emotions that Sasuke was feeling, and they could read his thoughts, like they were their own. They felt the love Sasuke felt for his mother. They heard someone entering the house and closing the door.

"How was training, boys?" Mikoto asked as a boy and a man entered the kitchen.

"It was fine, mother" the boy answered. He was older than Sasuke, with long hair tied in a ponytail, his hair having more of a greyish tone rather than a black one like his mother and brother. This must be uncle Itachi. They studied him as he sat down next to his little brother. They both smiled at each other. They felt how close Sasuke and Itachi were, as well as Sasuke's great admiration for him.

"Can I go with you next time?" Sasuke asked his father.

"You're still too young Sasuke, not to mention that I put Itachi through a training more demanding than usual, since he's a gifted child" his father answered. They could feel Fugaku's strength and authority, reminding them more of the Sasuke they knew than the actual Sasuke there, who was a little boy pouting for his father's attention. They could see Sakumo's resemblance to his grandfather as well, since they had a similar hairstyle, but Sakumo's hair color was like Mikoto's and Sasuke's, while Fugaku's was brown. Then again, adult Sasuke looked a lot like his father as well.

"Don't worry Sasuke, I will train with you some other time" Itachi said as he tapped the forehead of his little brother with his index finger. They now saw where that came from.

"Just stop talking about training and eat your snacks, they're just as important" Mikoto said as she gave her sons some sandwiches.

"Well, I'm going, they need me at the police station" Fugaku spoke up.

"Okay dear, will you be back for dinner?" Mikoto asked. Fugaku simply nodded and left. Itachi and Sasuke ate while Mikoto cooked their dinner for later that night.

"Itachi?" a voice came from another room.

"Here, in the kitchen" Itachi yelled.

"Am I interrupting?" another boy entered the room. He looked a bit older than Itachi, and had short spiky hair.

"Not at all Shisui! Join us, please" Mikoto smiled. So this was Shisui, the man that their little brother was named after.

"Hi Shisui!" Sasuke grinned. It was weird for them to hear the name Shisui and look at him, since their eyes would go at Sasuke considering he looked like the Shisui they knew.

"Thank you, Mikoto" Shisui bowed as he smiled and sat next to the brothers.

"What are you doing here? If you want to train, I just came from training with my father so I'm afraid I can't" Itachi said.

"There's more to life than training Itachi" Shisui pouted "I was thinking we could go and play some football, like normal kinds for once" Sarada was taken aback from the boy's attitude, not what you'd expect from an Uchiha, and she also couldn't shake the thought that this boy would eventually commit suicide.

"Sounds fun. Sure" Itachi shrugged.

"Wanna come with us Sasuke?" Shisui asked. Sasuke's face beamed.

"Really!? Can I go play with them mom? Please?" Sasuke begged.

"Of course you can" Mikoto laughed "just promise me you boys will take care of him for me"

"You got it" Shisui grinned "well? Shall we go?" the brothers nodded and left the house with him.

 **The Present. Hidden Leaf Cemetery.**

"It's been a while" Sasuke said, sitting in front of two tombstones "I apologize I only come here when I have to vent out, but well... at least I tell you what I'm up to" a small smile formed on his lips "I finally decided to entrust your grandchildren with the truth... and I have to admit, I'm afraid of the conclusions they will reach after knowing everything. I just hope they won't end up like your foolish son, who lashed out in anger and almost led the Uchiha to their doom. But then again... they haven't lost their family like I did, which I hope marks the difference" Sasuke said as he shifted positions so he'd be more comfortable.

"Anyway, enough about me, you might be wondering how your grandchildren are actually doing and how they are. Sarada... she's grown a lot. She's absurdly mature for her age, when she isn't throwing temper tantrums like her mother that is..." he chuckled "in all seriousness, she reminds me a lot of Itachi sometimes, she has a wisdom that is impossible to pinpoint where it comes from. I don't know what she'll make out of everything, but something tells me that she will surprise me like she always does... and mother, as she grows older, she looks more and more like you do, your genes are more dominant than just giving us your hair color it seems... but she also reminds me of you with her personality as well. It could also be said that she gets that from Sakura though... that blonde best friend of hers would say that it makes perfect sense that I happen to love someone who has a similar personality to yours, mother" he smiled "As for Sakumo, well, I'm afraid he's more like us, father. Strong, yes, but stubborn and introverted. I never really knew if you were once an arrogant little shit like I was in your younger days, but he is, just like me. I'm trying my best to put him in the right path, and become a responsible leader like you were, father, or even better, if I can. I'm doing everything in my power to help Sarada be the first Uchiha to become Hokage, and Sakumo to carry on the torch for you and me father, to be an even greater captain of the police force than us..." he looked at the sky "and of course... your youngest grandchild. He's still pretty much a baby, but he is a happy kid that brings happiness to the family. I was never really there for the other two as babies, so he's proving to be a challenge for me in other ways. Was I also such a troublemaker when I was his age? The little brat can be a serious nightmare..." the timing of his words couldn't have been better, as he felt a presence behind him only to find his 2 year old son smiling at him "Shisui!? What on earth are you doing here?" he asked as he picked him up and sat him on his lap.

"Mommy and I were looking for you" the kid explained.

"Okay... and where is mommy?"

"Here" he looked behind him to see Sakura, panting "I am so sorry, we came looking for you and found you here, I decided to sit back and give you some privacy, but I blink and next thing I know, he's here with you" she explained "Shisui! How did you do that?" she asked him. The little boy shrugged with a smile "don't you ever disappear like that again! You almost gave your mommy a heart attack!" she scolded. The kid had a habit of displaying early chakra manipulations only to scare his parents.

"I'm sorry mommy..." Shisui pouted "I just wanted to see daddy"

"Your daddy needs to be alone for a while..." she said as she reached to pick him up.

"It's okay" Sasuke said "both of you can sit here with me" he reassured. Sakura nodded and sat down next to him. She smiled, this was a very intimate moment for him and she was glad he wanted to share it with them.

"What are you doing here daddy?" Shisui looked up.

"I'm talking to your grandpa and grandma" he explained as he pointed at the tombstones.

"Is this heaven?"

"No" Sasuke chuckled "heaven is up there" he pointed at the sky "but this... this a very special place where you can talk to them" he tried to put it in a way so that a 2 year old could understand, since he couldn't exactly grasp the concepts of life and death.

"Oh..." Shisui nodded.

"I was just telling them about you. Say hi to them"

"Um... hi grandma Mikoto, hi grandpa Fugaku" the boy said. He simply stared at his father after that.

"You can't hear them, but they can hear you" Sasuke told him "I am sure they are very happy to see you"

"I wish I could see them too" little Shisui said.

"Well, you have seen pictures of them, haven't you sweetie?" Sakura spoke up.

"Yeah... I'm sorry I confused you with big sister, grandma"

"That's okay" Sasuke chuckled "I was telling them about your brother and sister, letting them know they went on that trip" he explained "I also told your grandma that your sister looks just like her, but that's okay, because they're both beautiful aren't they?" Shisui smiled and nodded "I was also wondering if Sarada reminded me more of your grandma or your mom"

"She's more like grandma"

"Excuse me? Why are you so sure about that?" Sakura asked him.

"Big sister is perfect, she doesn't yell at me or make me eat yucky things" Shisui explained.

"That's because I'm your mother and I have to take care of you!" Sakura feigned being offended "besides, your big sister is nice to you because you're a baby, believe me, she will be mean to you when you get bigger" Shisui simply shook his head in denial "and what about your brother? Do you like him more than daddy too?"

"Yeah" he answered instantly. Sasuke sweatdropped "Big brother is cooler than daddy, and he doesn't call me bad names"

"I only call you a snotty little brat every now and then" Sasuke defended himself.

"I know that's a mean thing to say!" Shisui pouted.

"If you don't want me to say mean things to you, behave" Sasuke smirked.

"You're being mean again daddy! I'm sure grandpa and grandma weren't mean to you!"

"Of course they were, it's what parents do, because parents love their kids and want them to be good people" Sasuke explained. Shisui simply looked away "anyway... why have you come for me?" he asked Sakura.

"You've forgotten, of course" she said, Sasuke raised an eyebrow "today is parent and child day, honey" Sasuke gave her a _so what_ look, in case she forgot he thought it was stupid "you should spend time with your son and go to the events instead of... _overthinking_ "

"Yes daddy!" Shisui yelled, forgetting he was mad at him "please come with me to see the parade!" Sasuke looked at his son's pleading eyes. Sakura was right, spending time with his son was far better than torturing himself thinking about the worst things that could happen.

"Okay. Let's go then" he said as he got up, Shisui cheered and Sakura smiled.

 **The Past**

"Alright, so this is how you play this game" Shisui explained with a ball under his foot "one of us is the goalkeeper, the other two will try to score. They have to pass the ball to each other, but the ball can't touch the ground, if you let the ball touch the ground, you become the goalkeeper. When one passes the ball to the other, he can pass it back or shoot, whatever you want. If you decide to shoot and you miss or the goalkeeper catches the ball, you become the goalkeeper. First to reach 10 goals wins. Got it?"

"Sounds simple enough" Itachi said. Sasuke nodded.

"Okay, I'll start as goalie, since I'm obviously the best and I have to be the goalie sometime" he smirked as he passed the ball to Sasuke.

"I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face Shisui!" Sasuke grinned as he kicked the ball up towards Itachi's direction.

"Is that so?" Shisui teased as Itachi passed the ball back to Sasuke. Itachi miscalculated and kicked the ball way too high for his little brother, he wasn't purposely trying to make it difficult for him, but the opposite. He stared in awe as Sasuke jumped higher than he expected and reached the ball with an overhead kick, Shisui's mouth widened and he couldn't react as the ball went right through the goal squad.

"I told you!" Sasuke laughed. Itachi and Shisui stared as Sasuke didn't realize he caught them completely off guard. It was one of those rare moments where little Sasuke proved he was just as gifted as they were, even if he wasn't aware of it.

"Okay... Sasuke gets the first point" Shisui said in disbelief as he passed the ball to Itachi. Itachi passed the ball to Sasuke, who passed it back. Itachi noticed Shisui was still out of it and took advantage of the situation, so he shot. Shisui immediately reacted and caught the ball "Another lesson for you Itachi, just because your opponent seems distracted, it doesn't mean that he actually is" he smirked as they switched positions. Itachi sighed.

"Just shut up" Itachi said as he passed the ball to a grinning Shisui.

"Alright, here you go Sasuke!" Shisui yelled as he passed Sasuke the ball. Sasuke passed it back, Shisui was feeling confident and he directly made his shot. The power behind it made it impossible for Itachi to reach it in time, luckily for him, the ball crashed against the post and bounced back. It was quite a strong kick and the ball found its way to a group of girls playing near the field.

"I'll go get it!" Sasuke shouted as he went after the ball.

The twins suddenly felt another emotion that was not Sasuke's. A feeling of amazement. They looked to see a little pink haired girl holding the ball. They did not expect to see their mother so soon. She was so little, and covered her forehead with bangs, something that Sakumo would make sure to remember to call her a hypocrite later. They also recognized the blonde girl with her as Ino. They did not expect to feel their mother's emotions as well. It looked like they were getting her side of the story as well. Sakura blushed as Sasuke approached her. She simply offered him the ball, he nodded, took it and headed back to Itachi and Shisui. He would appear as someone who didn't care, but they felt that the fascination their mother felt was reciprocated by their father, who simple hid it better. Love at first sight Sarada squealed, her existence proved it.

"That pink haired girl likes you Sasuke!" Shisui grinned.

"And?" Sasuke asked.

"Why don't you ask her out or something?"

"I am way too young for girls!" Sasuke defended himself.

"The blush you are trying to hide says otherwise!"

"Stop teasing my younger brother and get back in position, _goalie_ " Itachi spoke up. Shisui sighed and did as told. Itachi winked at Sasuke, telling him he had his back. Sasuke grinned, thanking his brother for saving him from being uncomfortable.

 **The present**

"Thank you for the ice cream daddy!" Shisui said as Sasuke carried him on his shoulders while they walked through the Hidden Leaf main street, it was dawn and they were headed to the river to see the fireworks.

"Just don't drop it on my hair" Sasuke warned. Shisui simple nodded and smiled.

"I'm surprised you're even letting him eat ice cream on your shoulders" Sakura laughed.

"I guess you could say this is some balance training for him" Sasuke smirked.

"He's only 2. Stop putting him through weird tests" Sakura sighed.

"He's only 2 yet he managed to give you the slip earlier" Sasuke teased. His wife glared.

"Well, I guess I'm glad you're being an asshole, that means you're being your normal self, have you finally stopped worrying?"

"I'm still thinking about that..." Sasuke explained "I have come to terms with the fact that I have to let them know the truth and accept the outcome. They are 18, they're legal adults and I have to stop treating them like children"

"It's kind of funny, I still see them as my little kids too... and we were even younger than them when we were fighting a war" Sakura pondered.

"Times are changing... shinobi can grow older without experiencing such hard things" Sasuke answered, now truly understanding Hashirama's words of dreaming of a world where children could grow old enough to taste alcohol "our ancestors fought to delay that, and it's our job to delay it even more"

"Look at you, spouting the wisdom of an old man" Sakura teased "I know I know, that makes me an old woman too" she said before he could answer "I really do feel old you know... my kids are already adults" she said as they sat down at the shore "it's good I have you to make me feel a bit more young" she said as she pinched Shisui's cheeks.

"That hurts mommy!" he complained.

"Sorry sweetie, mommy's growing old and she can't control her strength" she joked.

"You know Sakura, if you complain about being old with your beautiful looks one more time, I'm going to slap you" a female voice spoke next to them.

"Karin! We were looking for you!" Sakura smiled "you know, you still look good yourself with your Uzumaki genes, you're not one to talk either" she laughed as Karin sat down.

"I do have the right to complain to you, you'll probably still look hot at even in your 80's like your mentor" Karin answered "so surprised to see you here Sasuke, I thought you hated this thing"

"And I do, blame this little brat" he pointed at Shisui, who was sitting on Sakura's lap "at least your husband managed to get out of this"

"I wish" Suigetsu said as he appeared with a kid on his shoulders "it looks like you're as whipped as I am" he grinned.

"Shisui!" The kid shouted as he jumped down to the ground and ran to the little Uchiha.

"Namigetsu!" Shisui exclaimed as well. The kids ran off together close to the water and started playing.

"Don't go to the water kids! It's late and cold, you'll get sick!" Karin yelled. The kids stopped and looked back at their mothers, who shot them a serious look, they sighed and resumed playing a bit further from the water.

"I blame your kid for those two being a pair of little devils, he's a bad influence on my son" Sasuke told Suigetsu.

"We both know they reciprocate that in each other" Suigetsu said as he sat down next to Karin "if you put an Uchiha and a mist swordsman together they're bound to become a deadly duo. Your brother and Kisame. You and me. They're the next generation"

"Your sick humor has no limits doesn't it?" Karin scolded as she slapped him and his head liquified.

"Well, they have us to make sure we can put that fucked up chemistry to a good use" Sasuke smirked.

"See? You get it" Suigetsu complained as his head regenerated "it sucks that I'm in black ops and not in the police force with you and Jugo, I have my beloved wife at home who hits me for cracking my jokes and that freak Sai doesn't get my humor either. No one appreciates my talent"

"Sasuke and Jugo don't _get_ you, they _tolerate_ you" Karin looked away.

"Is that true?" he asked Sasuke. He simply nodded "you guys suck" he complained.

"Don't worry Suigetsu, I appreciate your humor" Sakura told him.

"Thank you, Sakura"

"I mean I feel for your clown act, it's amusing. You're like a fucked up Naruto" she teased. Karin laughed "I mean that as a compliment"

"Sure" Suigetsu glared "your betrayal hurts me, Sakura... I'll forgive you if you get Sasuke to get me out of black ops and get me in the police force"

"You're better suited for black ops" Sasuke answered "if you insist on changing... ask your boss"

"Like he'll do me that favor" Suigetsu huffed "I fucking hate that guy. He's literally everything I hate about you Sasuke, times 20" he complained. He looked at Sasuke, only to see him with an evil smirk.

"You just earned yourself 3 more night shifts, Hozuki" someone said behind him "Aw, god damn it!" he yelled as he saw Sai and his family.

"Hey families!" Ino waved "we did not expect to see you here!" she said as she jugged Sakura and Karin "where are the other 2?" She asked as she only saw Shisui and Namigetsu.

"They're away on a trip. Won't be here for another 2 days" Sakura explained "Inojin can you do us a favour and watch those 2? You know they can get in trouble pretty fast" she begged.

"Sure" Inojin said as he went over the two kids who were sort of sparring and laughing, it was more interesting for him to be with those two than the adults anyway. He was lucky and the kids stopped being so hyperactive as the fireworks started.

"They are growing so fast...and they're so cute " Ino pointed out as she observed the 2 kids laughing when the fireworks ended "I really wish I had another too... but I don't have Uzumaki genes or can manipulate my body like you lucky bitches, I have to go through the biology of a regular woman" she pouted.

"They do look like trouble though..." Sai said.

"You have no idea..." Sakura told him.

"Don't you dare complain Sakura" Ino glared "I wish I could give up my job and be a full time mom like you nowadays"

"Because the Yamanaka flower shop can be so stressful" she shot back "don't be jealous of me" she told her as Ino's face turned red "when Shisui's old enough Shizune will most likely retire and I alone will be in charge of the Hidden Leaf Hospital for the rest of my life, I am enjoying the little I have"

"Anyway..." Karin tried to be the peacemaker "isn't Inojin a bit too old for parent and child day?"

"Ino will use whatever she can as an excuse for us to spend time together as a family" Sai explained.

"It's not an _excuse_ , I _have_ to use whatever means necessary for you two to spend any time with me, you've abandoned me" Ino whined "you have another kid to fill the void, but I'm sure you understand how _ungrateful_ kids can be when they grow older" she told Sakura.

"Yeah... that I do understand" Sakura nodded "it's only natural, they have responsibilities now"

"18 year olds who will probably become jonin soon...we are becoming old Sakura... what the hell happened? It seemed like just yesterday when we were genin fighting over Sasuke"

"It's like all we do is reminisce about our childhoods when we talk Ino" Sakura laughed. _Besides, I'd rather not think about those days..._ she thought to herself as she looked at the path that led to the gates of the Hidden Leaf.

 **The past**

"Please Sasuke! I'm so in love with you I can't even stand it! I'll even help you with your revenge! Just stay here with me..." the twins stared at their pleading 13 year old mother, crying.

Sarada could only wonder, how could everything go so wrong. She sympathized with her father, losing everything when he was so young... of course, she knew she was still missing something, her uncle was not the psychopath she had come to see just a while ago, considering how her father talked about him, she had a couple of theories, but right now, she simply couldn't understand Sasuke. He had found a new brother in Lord 7th, and not to mention,she could feel how her father felt about her mother. How could he throw it all away just like that? Just moments ago, she saw her father try to sacrifice himself against a deranged Lord Kazekage (she had no idea a tailed beast could do that to a person, Lord 7th was not like that) for her mother's sake. She felt her father's pain on taking this decision. She repeated the same words on her head over and over since Sasuke had that battle against Naruto in the hospital. _Dad, don't do it_. And now, seeing her mother like that... she was on the verge of tears. Why would her father do this? Let himself be manipulated by Orochimaru like this, he was an Uchiha! He didn't need that guy's power! She tried to remind herself she knew things her father didn't. But she couldn't understand this, she just stood speechless seeing her father making the wrong decisions and felt so frustrated being forced to watch it.

On the other hand, her brother saw things differently. Sakumo fully understood his father, there was even a sense of admiration. He felt he couldn't have the resolve his father did now, and he was even 5 years younger than him. Then again, Sakumo had a lot more to lose. He felt blessed in a way, that he still had his family. He understood why his father decided to show him all this. He saw that he could very easily become just like his father if he made the wrong choices. He remained cool, even if he felt his mother's pain and it made him feel awful, he reminded himself that this had a happy ending in which his mother's heart would heal. He also understood his father's feelings. He felt strongly about Sakura. But she was pretty much all he had, she was far better off forgetting about him, his father was actually acting with his mother's best interests at heart. It was pretty logical to act this way for his part, if he thought about it. Still... there had to be a better way than becoming some sort of slave for a guy as creepy as Orochimaru. Sasuke could achieve a power as great as Itachi's without his help, they had the same blood and potential. But Sasuke's mind was twisted. He felt frustrated, no one, not even the woman he loved, even tried to understand him. The only one who did was evil incarnate. It was fucked up. He felt sad his father had no one to save him from his path of darkness, and he could only imagine how much further would this go considering what he told him earlier. He was ready to see it all, and he knew that this was only the beginning...

"You haven't changed" Sasuke said before turning around "you're still annoying" he smirked.

"Don't leave me!" Sakura screamed as Sasuke walked away "If you go, I'll scream and-" she stopped as she saw him disappear.

"Sakura" she heard his voice behind her "thank you... for everything" he said before knocking her out and leaving the village.

Sarada couldn't believe he actually did it. Right there, the love he had for her showed up. How could he just ignore it. She started crying as she knew what was coming. He was going to Orochimaru. He was a rogue ninja now. Her gut somehow knew what was coming and her worst fear was confirmed. Her father actually became evil. She saw him become a completely different person after awakening the second stage of the curse mark. His behaviour in his fight against Naruto was hard to believe. His decision of killing him following his brother's instructions. She couldn't believe what she was seeing was real, how could this be the same man she knew these last years? There was just no way... As the fight ended, Sarada felt it. A ray of light that won. He just couldn't do it. Sarada sighed in relief. Her father hadn't completely lost it. There was still good in him, and she knew the good in him would eventually win over the dark side of her father she just saw. As she saw him go to Orochimaru and train with him, she tried to understand him. And she did. He despised Orochimaru, he never even considered surrendering his body to him. Her father was not evil. He was doing what he considered necessary to bring justice to Itachi. She felt that there had to be another way. It broke her heart to see her father sacrifice his happiness in the name of justice. It rang a bell and she looked at her brother. He was calmly looking at everything, she realized he considered their father's resolve a strength. She did not. She saw how this could make him become evil. Sarada clang to the sense of good that remained in her father, just wishing things wouldn't get any worse. She awaited to find the answers she was lacking that explained everything about Itachi, maybe that was what would put Sasuke back on the right path.

 **The present. The next day.**

"Boruto!" a female voice caught Boruto's attention, who was walking in the Hidden Leaf with his friends.

"Oh hey Wasabi, what's up?" Boruto grinned as he saw it was her.

"Have you seen Sarada or Sakumo? I can't find them" she asked.

"No idea" he shrugged.

"I did see the Uchiha yesterday, but those two were not there" Inojin spoke up "come to think of it, they did mention they were out of the Leaf on a mission or something"

"So he's away..." she thought aloud.

"Why are you trying to find Sakumo?" Shikadai asked with a grin.

"I didn't say I was looking for him, I'm actually looking for Sarada" she answered with a bored expression.

"Right..." Shikadai continued smirking, knowing what happened between them.

"What's so fucking funny pineapple head?" she demanded as she grabbed him by his shirt.

"Gotta give it to you, you sure can pull the tough girl act, but we know that deep down you're a desperate lady looking for her man" Inojin joined in the fun. Boruto gave them a confused look knowing he was missing something.

"I don't know what you idiots are talking about, but I will kick your asses if you keep this up" Wasabi threatened.

"Woah woah, what's going on here?" Boruto got himself in between.

"Oh right you don't know don't you?" Inojin smiled

"Wasabi and Sakumo are a thing" Shikadai explained. Boruto's jaw dropped.

"Where did you get that!?" Wasabi yelled. Acting dumb, but unable to hide a blush.

"Wasabi!? You seriously dig that Uchiha asshole!?" Boruto asked her.

"She does, we saw her with him" a voice next to them spoke. Wasabi's heart stopped. It was those Cloud ninja that Sakumo beat up.

"She's the new Uchiha whore, like your teammate and her mom" the other one said.

"In her case, it's just as bad as Sakura Haruno, this stupid bitch has no respect for herself, getting involved with an Uchiha" he looked at Wasabi "you know it's women like you I despise, idiotic females that criminals get their pussies wet, all of you should be killed off if you asked me, for the best of our species"

"What's your fucking problem bro?" Boruto asked him, not believing the shit he just told his friend to her face.

"Boruto... just ignore them..." Wasabi told him, an all too familiar scene replaying before her.

"You wouldn't know, we've been told you have a thing for Sarada Uchiwhore yourself" he smirked at Boruto.

"What the fuck did you just call her?" Boruto took the bait.

"The poor bastard has it in his blood, his father let Sasuke Uchiha be in charge of justice in this joke of a village"

"You've insulted my friend, my teammate, my father and one of my mentors, you'd better take all that shit back or you'll be sorry" Boruto threatened.

"What are you going to do? Get your daddy to kick us out? You spoiled piece of shit!" Boruto saw red and put a Rasengan in the cloud nin's face, who was sent flying back and crashed against a wall, making a big hole in it. He looked at the other who charged against him, Boruto activated his visual prowess and was about to hit this guy's chakra points so that he couldn't walk for weeks. As he raised his arm ready to counterattack, a hand grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What do we have here..." Sasuke Uchiha appeared out of nowhere "another fool who's earned himself a trip to the holding cells trying to defend my daughter's honor" he glared at the standing cloud shinobi "get your pal to the hospital" he told him. The cloud ninja nodded and did as told. This only enraged Boruto as he did not have the guts to say that shit about Sasuke to his face, and he attempted to let go of Sasuke's hand and go at him. Sasuke strengthened his grip and hurt Boruto "don't even think about it" he hissed before looking back at the cloud ninja "by the way, I heard what you said. I won't make excuses for my foolish son and this idiot here and they will be punished accordingly, but since you have such problems with the Leaf I will make sure you go back to the Cloud" he said as one of them ran with his unconscious friend in his arms to the hospital.

"Uncle Sasuke..." Boruto spoke up as he let go of his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing" he demanded.

"They had it coming! Those sons of-"

"Wrong answer" he said as he grabbed him again "I wasn't bluffing, since you did the exact same thing as my stupid son, you will get the same exact punishment"

"But!"

"Shut up" he commanded "Wasabi, next time try to stop these fools will you?" he told her.

"Sure..." she nodded. Not that she could even if she tried, both of them exploded so fast. Sasuke and Boruto disappeared before she could say so.

 **Hokage's Office**

"What's the problem now, Sasuke" Naruto said before he could knock, Kurama warned Naruto that Sasuke was headed his way.

"Your brat" Sasuke said as he entered the room with a pouting Boruto after him.

"What on earth did he do this time" he sighed, it had actually been too long since his son got into any trouble.

"He put a Rasengan on a cloud shinobi's face" Sasuke explained.

"He what!?" Naruto stood up and ran to Boruto "what the hell did you do that for!?"

"The same guys my son attacked. Started talking badly about the Uchiha and Leaf, your son of course, couldn't let that slide" Sasuke spoke up after Boruto refused to answer.

"You... idiot" Naruto scolded.

"I thought you should know, before I take him to the cells" Sasuke informed.

"Of course..." Naruto sighed "make it a full day"

"What!?" Boruto yelled "The asshole was there one night!"

"The _asshole_ isn't getting himself into trouble all the time" Naruto glared.

"Like father like son huh..." Boruto looked to see someone sitting down, he hadn't even noticed him.

"Uncle Gaara!?" Boruto exclaimed. Naruto smacked him hard "I mean... Lord Kazekage"

"I wasn't aware I was interrupting a Kage meeting" Sasuke said, he had no idea Gaara was there, either.

"Don't worry about it" Naruto sighed and raised his hand "we were chatting more as friends right now"

"I apologize nonetheless, I'm taking this fool and leave you to it" Sasuke said before both disappeared.

"So hidden cloud ninja talked badly about the Leaf and your son reacted badly..." Gaara said "Quite ironic"

"This is serious Gaara..." Naruto sighed.

"I know, and I want you to know that the Sand stands with the Leaf. The Hidden Cloud is going too far" Gaara reassured.

 **The past**

"Sasuke! Stop!" Sakura screamed from the other side of a destroyed bridge. Sasuke's chidori disappeared and he shifted his attention from an injured Karin to Sakura.

Sarada gasped. Sakumo flinched. No. Not their mother. She was the last person they wanted to see here. Theur father seriously lost it. He was insane. It was a vicious cycle, in which him cutting things out of his life made his Mangekyo Sharingan stronger, and the Mangekyo Sharingan made him want such things in the first place. They knew it. Their uncle was a good man. Behind all the horror, there was a man who sacrificed it all for a better future. The truth reveal shook them to the core, but it did something far worse to their father. He found out the person he hated the most, the person he just killed, was the person who loved him the most and did everything for his sake, and he spent his life loathing him and wanting to see him die, when he should have seen him as the person he loved and looked up to the most, just like it was when they were kids, that was always the truth, and never an illusion. Seeing everything she saw so far, Sarada stopped looking at her father in a judgemental way, but she tried to understand him. And she did. In a fucked up way, and the way her father saw it, the Hidden Leaf took everything from him. They were an evil entity that made him suffer, and they had to pay for it. The thing was, Danzo and the elders were the ones who did it, not the entire village as their father grew to believe. Hundreds of people were innocent, and their father grew to resent them as well because they were ignorant of everything. Their very existence was a sin that their father wanted to punish. Now Sakumo knew what his father meant when he said that absolutely everyone became responsible for what happened to him. They understood. As Uchiha and having experienced the discrimination first hand, they understood the clan's and their father's decision. However, they believed their uncle did the right thing. And they desperately wanted their father to see that and carry on his will, however, the falmes of the hatred he had been carrying for years burned hotter than ever and Madara Uchiha was fanning them. Sasuke was not in a good place, a mad dog in Madara's leash. He had just left Jugo and Suigetsu to die in order to achieve his goal. Even if he cared for his new friends and awakened a Mangekyo Sharingan power to save them. As far as he was concerned now, they were a distraction to his goals, and he had to cut them loose. Stabbing Karin in order to kill Danzo was the tip of the iceberg. And now that their mother was here... she represented what Taka was to him times 100. If she stayed... he would probably kill her.

"What are you doing here Sakura" he demanded. Sakura jumped to his location.

"I ran away from the Leaf!" she announced "I came to join you!"

"Really? You're going to betray the Hidden Leaf for me?"

"Yes... Ever since you left... I've regretted not coming with you..."

"And what's in it for you? What are you plotting?"

"I'm not plotting anything! I want to follow you"

"Do you know what I really want?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shook her head "To destroy the Leaf" Sakura gasped "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes... I will do anything for you"

"Then prove it to me. Kill this girl. Finish her off and I'll believe you're serious" he pointed at Karin.

"Who is she?" Sakura asked.

"A member of my team, Taka, although as you can see, she's of no use to me anymore" he explained. "this is perfect, you can replace her. Things will work out fine" Sakura looked at a bleeding Karin and pointed her kunai at her.

"He's not... the Sasuke you know... anymore" Karin managed to speak in her state.

They heard their mother's thoughts. So _cold_. How could Sasuke speak like this of someone who meant something to him. They agreed with Sakura, he was gone, the Sasuke that cared for people close to him was nowhere to be found in this ghost of his former self... but their mother was actually there to kill him, they realized. Thier mother was in a bad place as well. Finding out the man she loved had become an Akatsuki. At that moment their mother truly felt that Sasuke needed to be killed to save the world, and especially himself, from the monster he became. They screamed for their mother to realize that the _real_ Sasuke was still there, waiting for someone to pull him out

"What's the matter Sakura? Can't do it?" Sasuke said behind her.

And then they heard Sasuke's thoughts... He would never be able to fulfill his goals with Sakura with him. If Taka were mere distractions, Sakura was _the_ distraction. Sasuke's mind was split and his thoughts were confusing, to say the least. One part was admiring how beautiful she became, the other was desperate to prove that she had to be gotten rid of if he wanted to succeed. Then, he looked at her kunai. _Poison,_ the darker par of himself noticed, _she's here to kill you, she just made the decision for you. Kill her!_ Before Sasuke knew it he was already well on his way to run a chidori through her heart. But thank god, Kakashi stopped him.

As Sasuke fought Kakashi and tried to kill him as well, the twins were far too busy trying to come to terms with the fact that their parents had just tried to kill each other. As Sasuke's Susano'o evolved even further thanks to the Mangekyo Sharingan's hatred, Kakashi was saved by the fact that Sasuke had overused his visual prowess that day and his eyes were paying the price. Just as they were trying to get over their parents trying to kill each other, Sakura ran at him from his back with the kunai, he was weak, he was blind, there was no better time for this. But just as it seemed it would happen. Sakura simply stopped a split second before connecting the devastating stab. She just couldn't do it, Her tears and stuttering alerted Sasuke, who turned around, enraged by the fact that the woman he loved was trying to kill him, he would do it first. He took the kunai from her hand and would give her the death she wanted to give him. But just like before, it didn't happen. Naruto arrived and saved her. As they fought once more, Sarada was given a reason to admire the 7th Hokage even more, perhaps this was easily the biggest one yet. Naruto, unlike Sakura, Kakashi or anyone else, saw it. The _real_ Sasuke. The good in him that was waiting to be pulled out. And he vowed to pull him out. The twins figured, that seeing the man their father was now, he succeeded. Sakumo now found his reason to admire his Hokage. He was so grateful that someone was there to save his father. He felt like Sasuke needed that someone and he was glad to find that someone in Naruto. Without Naruto, he wouldn't even exist. As Madara took Sasuke and gave him his brother's eyes to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the twins were not actually looking forward to the famous 4th Great Ninja War they kept hearing about but no one explained to them.

No, they were thinking about their clan. A clan tainted by hatred. A clan that had a power that answered to loss, anger and pain. A clan where family members killed each other. A clan that was known and feared by all. A clan where their parents loved each other, yet tried to kill each other. They vowed to change all this once they woke up.

There was also this nagging question they had in their heads. Their mother was unable to actually go through with it at the last moment... what about their father?

Their questions where answered by a Sasuke sitting down, eyes covered after the eye transplant, wondering the same thing himself. Sasuke came to a conclusion. He would have stopped. He loved Sakura too much. Just like he did with Naruto 3 years ago, just like his eyes picked dealing a lethal blow to Kakashi of all moments, that part of him would have completely halted his muscles. The current Sasuke though... saw that as a weakness. A weakness he would have to get rid of.

 _To be continued..._


	15. Do Not Seek Absolution

_I'm back with the next update._

 _We are changing the story format again, and we've finally reached a point of the story that I know you were waiting for. For the next chapters, we will follow Sasuke in the post-Shippuden events. That's right, Sasuke and Sakura's romance story is finally beginning._

 _There will be no jumps from the past to the present, instead, we're going back to a third person perspective, but this time in the past. You could say the twins are seeing this too, but not all of it, there will be some things that will honor the M rating of the story, things the readers will want to read but the twins wouldn't want to see... if you know what I mean ;)_

 **Land Of Fire**

Sasuke had been traveling around the world for approximately 2 years now. His journey to atone for his sins was nearing its end. He really did see the world around him with a different light now, that was the whole reason he embarked on this journey to begin with, and in that aspect, it was a success. Sasuke had learned to see the good in people, something he had never seen since he was a child, but then again, he never really looked for it to begin with. He was a changed and different man. He was surprised that he now had impulses to help people in need, seeking nothing in return. Being able to put people in bad places back on their feet, aiding people in the dark to see the light much like it happened with him a couple of years ago... it made him happy. Sasuke wasn't doing this in order to clean his karma or nothing of the sort now, he was doing it because he actually enjoyed it. People actually needed him in the smaller nations and villages, where shinobi were blinded by power and bullied and took advantage of normal people just trying to get by. Sasuke spent most of these two years helping these people, and he had at least made an impact, shinobi abuse of regular civilians was vastly shrinking, thanks to his actions and the help of Kakashi, who Sasuke made aware of the situation and was using his power as Hokage to aid these people when he could. Now that he was a new and improved person and his job was done in the smaller villages he visited around the world, he was now back in the Land of Fire because it was time to do the one thing that had been in his mind all these years... but it wasn't quite the right time yet.

The constant and most difficult part when one is on the path to redemption, is forgiving yourself. Understanding what went wrong, what made you who you were. Sasuke is still struggling with these feelings. He still harbors feelings of hatred for the Hidden Leaf elders, who he simply can't forgive, and he shouldn't, but he has to learn to let go of that hatred. He has to move on. He's also angry with himself. For being a foolish young man who let his anger blind him and dictate his actions. He hurt Kakashi, he hurt Naruto... he hurt Sakura. They had forgiven him. But he didn't feel worthy of their forgiveness, how could he, if he hadn't forgiven himself fully yet. Sasuke wasted 4 years of his life hating, destroying and hurting, when he should have been living, protecting and helping. His deceased parents would have wanted him to live a happy life, and he was really trying his best to honor their wishes now. But he would have to resolve these feelings in order to return to the Leaf. He doesn't know what he'll do if he runs into a Hidden Leaf villager that will insult the Uchiha. He knows he will feel rage and is afraid it will get the better of him. He was much better traveling, Sasuke was happy helping others around the world... but he has unfinished business back home, and it's been irking him. He wouldn't even consider returning to the Leaf if it wasn't for this one woman. Sakura.

Sakura had been in his mind every day. Even in his darkest days. He had come to terms with this simple fact very quickly. He loved Sakura. How could he not? Sakura is the one woman who was always there for him, the one woman who he let really knew his true self, the one woman who he hurt and she _still_ managed to forgive him and love him. Of course, once he saw it, he loved her right back. Sasuke is so lucky to have Sakura in his life,a light that was always there for him and he feels so _stupid_ that it took him so long to see it. Sakura is a beautiful woman, kind, selfless... she was perfect. And that was the problem. Sakura deserved far better than Sasuke. He feels unworthy of her love. One of the most important reasons of his journey to redemption is becoming a man that is at least a bit worthy of being loved by such a magnificent woman. Do not misunderstand him either, as much as he wants to make Sakura his, this is not the reason he wants to go back to the Leaf for her. He wants to thank her, and let her know that her idiotic love for the bad boy who she hoped she could turn good wasn't entirely a lost cause. He doesn't want to even think about having a romantic relationship with her right now. He has been purposely avoiding her, as far as he knows, maybe she found love in another man... a thought that pains him, but he could accept it. As he thought, she simply deserves a man as perfect as her. All he wants to do is let her know, and he needs to do this in person, not via letter, which is how he keeps in touch with Naruto and Kakashi.

But, he must be able to go to the Leaf first, and this is the reason of his current trip. He's headed for the Fire Temple. A place where monks seeking for redemption, much like himself, are known to be at. The Fire Temple was destroyed by the Akatsuki, right before they also killed a man he knew, Asuma Sarutobi. Since he did fight for the Akatsuki at one point in his life, visiting the Fire Temple, which was rebuilt by the few survivors and doing what he can to help, is one of the things he must do in his quest for atonement. He was actually invited by Sentoki, one of the only survivors who he ran into in another village. He had a deep conversation with him, he was very understanding of his story and could empathize with him, however, their meeting was short and he invited him to go to the Fire Temple when he had the chance, promising him he could find answers to his questions and help from people with a similar background there.

Sasuke was walking through a desertic area, he learned that this is where his team and Shikamaru's team defeated Hidan and Kakuzu. He had to go through here to get to the Temple. As he was walking, thinking about what that fight could have been like and if it took place somewhere in his current location, he saw a very old man just standing in the middle of nowhere.

"Can you help a blind man?" the man said as Sasuke walked close to him, shaking a jar. Quite an odd place for a beggar, Sasuke though to himself, nonetheless, he gave him a couple of coins "thank you, Sasuke Uchiha" the man said as Sasuke was walking away from him. This made Sasuke stop right in his tracks and turn around.

"How can you know who I am?" he asked.

"I can't see but I can still feel chakra" the man smiled "your chakra is definitely that of an Uchiha, and well, you're the sole survivor are you not?" Sasuke looked at the man. Brown hair, pale skin... he had no eyes to confirm his thought, but his physical attributes made Sasuke assume he had a pretty safe guess.

"You're from the Hyuga clan" Sasuke said as he walked back to him.

"I once was, yes" the blind man answered.

" _Was_?" Sasuke asked.

"I was expelled from the clan" he explained "that's also the reason of my current... _predicament_ " the Hyuga could be pretty brutal, willing to take someone's eyes in order to protect their kekkei genkai, then again, the Uchiha might have also been like that, Sasuke was still a kid and he could never see how the clan really dealt with such things.

"And just what did you do to be punished so severely?"

"I was from the branch family, and I challenged the main house. I thought I was stronger and deserved better. I was defeated, punished and exiled" the old Hyuga told Sasuke.

"You actually challenged the head of the clan for supremacy" Sasuke stated.

"Yes... and I paid for it dearly. I just couldn't accept how the branch house was treated. We didn't deserve that, I became pretty strong and decided to do something about it"

"Don't branch members have a curse mark to prevent them from even attempting such a thing?" the Hyuga smirked.

"I undid it. That's why I was so confident I could defeat the main members. As you can see... I was wrong. You seem to know a lot about the Hyuga clan, not everyone knows about the branch's curse mark"

"I knew a branch member that had similar problems"

"You must be talking about Neji" Sasuke made a grunt to give him an affirmation, since a nod wouldn't cut it "you know... Neji changed my life"

"How so?"

"I have been years... more than a decade, living in the dark. I was blind, and I was angry at the world. Not so long ago... I would have used this beggar trick to fool people and rob them. Now... I really am a beggar. I can use my chakra, but I am a Hyuga and I spent my whole life relying on my sight, once I lost it, I am useless. I can't survive without it. I was so angry at the clan for what they did to me, at the world, for letting such a thing happen to me. I heard what happened to Hizashi, Neji's father, and that fueled my hatred. But then 2 years ago I heard how Neji passed... he died protecting Hiashi's daughter. I couldn't understand, why would he protect her? Her father is the reason his father died... then I ran into some other branch members... they told me his story. It changed my life, learning that Hizashi and his son died protecting people they loved. Once I knew that, my whole life changed. Since then... I live a happier life. I can _see_ the good in people. And without eyes" he laughed. Sasuke was rather taken aback by his sense of humor "I think it's destiny that I ran into you Sasuke... I know you're in a path to redemption yourself"

"Okay, you can't know that by sensing my chakra" Sasuke spoke up. The Hyuga laughed.

"No, Sentoki told me about you"

"You've been in the Fire Temple?"

"Yes, I went there seeking the same things as you, I assume you're going?"

"I am"

"You're making a good choice. They helped me. I know they can help you"

"I hope so. I guess it must be destiny indeed, that we ran into each other. I appreciate you sharing your story with me"

"And I appreciate the help" the Hyuga shook the jar "now go, they are waiting for you" he smiled.

"Thank you" Sasuke said as he resumed his walking. Another story that made Sasuke realize he was not alone. It did make him feel a better, knowing he wasn't the only one with a dark past, and knowing that the past can be forgiven.

Sasuke arrived to the Fire Temple and he fit right in. Sentoki was not lying. He met a lot of other people with similar problems and stories such as his or the Hyuga he met before arriving. He learned a lot from the monks and helped them in any way he could. It was a give and take, in which others would share their stories and him with others, providing support for each other. It was not by all means a nice experience. Sasuke had been repressing his emotions for years. He had to learn how to handle anger, fear, sadness and such emotions in a healthy way. Once he let these emotions out, there was no stopping them, they exploded out of him like a volcano. He cried a lot. He felt his anger and hatred come out very intensely again. He suffered panic attacks, something he didn't experience since he learned the truth about Itachi, it turned out he also grew afraid of panic attacks to begin with since then, so he dealt with constant feelings of anxiety and fear, which made him feel physically ill. He spent more than a month in the temple, working on himself physically and mentally. One day, he had an enlightening session.

"Sasuke..." Bansai said, the eldest and wisest monk in the Temple "do you know what the cure to hatred is?" Sasuke shook his head "Love, young man, it's love. Love and hatred are two sides of the same coin. Your hatred was a reaction of all the love you lost as a boy. You can turn that strong hatred into strong love"

"I have heard that before" Sasuke said as he remembered Tobirama saying that when talking about the sharingan "but I'm afraid I don't understand what that means"

"You know, young Uchiha, you remind me a lot of Asuma Sarutobi in a way" he said. That was a bit too random, Sasuke simply raised his eyebrow "I can see it in you. There's a woman in your life, isn't there?" he asked. Sasuke stared, he never told him about Sakura.

"Yes..." he admitted.

"Well there you have it. You can start turning that hate into love by telling her how you feel. I want you to write her a letter. Right now"

"You think that writing it down will help me?"

"No, I think _telling_ her will help you"

"You want me to send her that letter?"

"Of course"

"No" he simply answered.

"Why?"

"I must tell her in person. I owe her that much"

"But you said that you must resolve your feelings before going to the Leaf" Sasuke strangely nodded, not understanding "you have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk dear boy. Your love for that woman is the way to transform your hatred. I'm sure of it. Write her a letter and send it to her. She deserves to know. And you need to stay here so we can track your progress. Now go. That is your task" he dismissed Sasuke.

Sasuke retreated to the library they had and thought about it. Was Bansai right? Maybe that was the answer, and he had been looking at it the other way around all along. He started writing a letter. He felt so nervous, he just didn't know how to put what he felt into words. He spent an entire day writing letters until he finally wrote one that satisfied him. Now came the most difficult part. Actually sending it. He was finally letting Sakura know how he felt. Through a letter. Sakura confessed her love to him more than once, and he was nervous about doing so through written words. Sakura had more courage than he did. Then he thought about how Sakura must have been feeling, and he realized that maybe Sakura had been thinking about him just as much as he was, and how much she was suffering because Sasuke never even talked to her. Sakura deserved an answer. He didn't think it twice and he summoned a hawk. He gave the hawk specific instructions before tucking the letter on its leg and letting the hawk fly. He gulped. He did it. He was telling Sakura. Now he just had to endure days torturing himself with his thoughts, waiting for Sakura's answer. Emotions are a bitch.

 **Hokage's Office. Hidden Leaf Village.**

"Me? Seriously!?" Naruto yelled.

"Of course. Your father led a genin team. I did it with you. If you want to become Hokage, you'll have to do it, like all of us did" Kakashi explained.

"Don't get me wrong! I would love to lead a genin team!" Naruto grinned.

"I'm actually more worried about the genin. Naruto could turn them into a team of reckless pranksters" Sakura laughed.

"I've matured ya'know" Naruto glared.

"You really think so don't you?" Sakura teased.

"What? You're in charge of the children's mental hospital so you think you're the authority in children now don't you?" Naruto teased back. Kakashi sighed. 20 years old and these two are still getting into these childish games. Something tapped his window twice.

"It's Sasuke's hawk" Naruto said as they all looked at it.

"I wonder what he's up to now..." Kakashi said as he opened the window and reached for the hawk's leg. The hawk stepped back and let out a cry that almost deafened everyone in the room "what's wrong?" Kakashi asked the hawk. The hawk pointed behind him with its beak.

"Me?" Sakura said as she noticed the hawk looking at her. The hawk flew to her and rested on her shoulder. She was glad she was just on a mission and had shoulder pads on. She reached for the letter only for the hawk to shake its head.

"That means it's a private letter" Naruto explained. Having suffered Sasuke's hawks being total assholes to him like their summoner when they had a letter for Kakashi exclusively.

"Oh... I guess I'll take you to my place then" Sakura told the hawk as she exited the room. She was done in there anyway.

"A private letter for Sakura huh..." Kakashi said as she left.

"I don't think he's ever sent her one... wonder what that's about" Naruto answered.

"Anyway... as I was saying, I want you to take a genin team next month" Kakashi started.

Sakura walked back to her apartment, earning herself stares from people since she had a hawk on her shoulder. She entered her apartment and the hawk flew to rest near the window. She carefully reached for the letter wondering if it was okay to do it now, the hawk nodded and she took the letter out of its leg. She opened the window so that the hawk could fly back to Sasuke.

"Aren't you leaving?" Sakura asked.

"Master Sasuke expects an answer. I am to stay here until you write back" the hawk spoke.

"You can speak!?" Sakura asked in shock, she had no idea and was more talking to herself.

"We only speak to a select group of humans. Master Sasuke assured me you can be trusted"

"Are Naruto and Kakashi part of that select group?" she asked. The hawk shook its head. Sakura was so surprised. Sasuke's hawk spoke to her and her alone. She was less ready to find out why "well, knowing me, I'll probably take a while" she joked to ease herself "do you want some food or water or you'll do it yourself? I know you hawks are predators and you probably don't like to be handed things"

"You are correct. I don't need anything, thank you" the hawk replied.

Sakura nodded and sat on a chair on the little workspace she had in her little appartment. She was shocked. What was this about? Did something happen to Sasuke? This was very unusual, to say the least. Only one way to find out. She opened the letter.

 _Sakura,_

 _I never answered your last letter where you asked me when I would come back to the Leaf. The answer is not simple._

 _Believe me when I say that I hope it's soon, it's just that it's complicated for me to return. I am still struggling with feelings I have towards the village. You must know that some villagers have a dislike towards the Uchiha, and might resent me for my actions before the war. I fear how I might react. I am still trying to control my anger and someone might say something that might set me off and I could do something that I don't want to do. I am working hard to get these feelings under control, and I am making progress. I no longer feel angry, I am helping people in the smaller villages like I told you and that makes me feel... happy. However, I fear that could change. I don't want it to. Sometimes I think I should just travel around the world living this new life I have and never look back. But Sakura... I have a very strong reason to come back to the village. That reason is... you._

 _You have told me you loved me. I must be sincere with you. I love you too. I always have. I know I told you I didn't, but I was lying, to myself, especially. You are the only woman in this world that I have ever opened up to. You are the only woman who has ever loved me for who I was, not just because of my looks. I want you to know that I noticed that. And that I feel the same way about you._

 _I am sorry I'm telling you this over a letter, I always wanted to tell you in person, it felt more appropriate. But I have come to the conclusion that it can't wait, not even for me to get my shit together. You have waited long enough and you deserve to know that your love for me... which most certainly seemed crazy to others... It wasn't. Not to you, not to me. Thank you for loving me, even after everything Sakura. I don't know how you managed to endure all that... but thank you._

 _I don't know if you are seeing someone else, and if you are, don't worry about me. You needed to know that your feelings were in fact reciprocated, and come to think of it... you deserve better than a man who fell as low as I did._

 _I am trying to become a better man. I write this letter to you from the Fire Temple. I'm staying here working to better myself, like most of the people who come here. A woman like you, who has the kindest heart one can think of, deserves far better than the pathetic wretch I ended up being. It turns out that the way to fight off the hatred inside my heart... is to admit my love for you, and express it. It's ironic, since I've been told that Asuma went through a similar thing with Kurenai over here. I really hope she and their child are doing well._

 _Anyway, I'm sorry for the written love confession, but it's real. I'm expecting your reply, no matter what it is._

 _Love you Sakura,_

 _Sasuke._

The letter shook in Sakura's hands. Tears fell on it. He loved her. Sakura was crying uncontrollably, but these were tears of joy. She had been waiting for this moment her entire life. She stuck the letter on her face. It smelled like him. She figured she should let out her younger self, and fangirl one last time so Sasuke wouldn't see it. She let out a scream of excitement. Then she started laughing. She was the happiest woman in the world right now.

"I'm sorry you had to see that..." she shyly smiled to Sasuke's hawk, when she remembered it was still with her.

"Don't... worry..." the hawk replied, a bit surprised "I'm aware that human females can be over emotional"

Sakura would normally be offended by such a rude remark. But she didn't care. Nothing could bring her down from the emotional high she was on right now. She decided to waste no time at all and started writing her reply. She kept it simple, to the point. Still crying of joy while doing it. She tucked her answer letter on the hawk's leg and watched it fly away. She was going to call Ino and the rest of her friends. And she was going to celebrate.

 **The next day. Fire Temple.**

Sasuke was trying to meditate outside. Trying to calm himself down. He somehow managed to sleep last night. He was a complete mess. A part of him felt relieved he had finally taken this huge weight off his chest. Another part was fearful, anxious... he simply couldn't wait to read Sakura's reply. He also feared the worst for some reason. A voice told him that Sakura _obviously_ liked him back and he had nothing to worry about. Another told him he waited too long, Sakura moved on like she should have done and he just made a huge mistake. He suddenly felt his hawk coming back. That was fast. He looked up and extended his arm. He took the letter from his hawk's arm in a motion too fast for the normal human eye to see. The hawk, with its mission accomplished, vanished in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke took a deep breath before reading.

 _To the biggest idiot in the world,_

 _Do not worry about saying it in a letter... I'm actually glad you did it. You have a way with written words that you simply lack face to face. You silly, silly man... that was beautiful, Sasuke. Can you believe I'm still crying as I'm writing this? The only thing I can scold you about is not writing it sooner! Do you have any idea of how long I've been waiting for this!? Ever since you poked my forehead before you left that's how long it's been! You could have and should have said this back then! That way I wouldn't have been worried sick about you all this time... but then again, that was very romantic and this is a side of you I could really get used to..._

 _I haven't seen anyone else, and I never will. You are the only one for me, you have always been and you always will, you dummy. You might be right in me being an idiot for having a single spot in my heart for only you and you alone. But it seems that I'm a lucky idiot._

 _I understand what you're going through Sasuke, and you have my full support. Take all the time you need, I will be here, waiting for you, not matter how long it takes. I can wait for you, knowing that we love each other, my mind is at ease. I love you just as much Sasuke, probably even more._

 _Always yours,_

 _Sakura_

 _P.S. Kurenai and her daughter Mirai are just fine. You wouldn't believe how fast she's growing!_

Sasuke smirked when he finished reading. He thought he was happy before. No, _this_ was happy. The woman he loved was waiting for him back home. He let out a huge sigh of relief. And he felt his mouth doing something he wasn't used to... apparently, he was smiling. And everyone who saw it would make sure to remind him of this for days. Still, he couldn't care less. He noticed it. Now that he thought about the Hidden Leaf, he didn't think about villagers making him angry. He thought about Sakura. Only Sakura. Bansai was right. This therapy of his was working.

The next days, Sasuke and Sakura wrote letters to each other everyday. Telling each other about the tiniest things, Sakura went on and on about the ordinary things she would do at work, what she ate...etc, Sasuke would normally find this stupid, but he found himself wanting to know about these mundane things and telling her about his own. A little more than a week has passed when Sakura told Sasuke about a mission she had. Sasuke had a thought. That wasn't too far from where he was. He just couldn't wait to see her. He decided to write her a letter, telling her he would be waiting for her in a certain spot at a certain time. Maybe she would be too busy and wouldn't be able to make it. But he didn't care. He needed some time out of the Temple anyway, being out would do him good anyway. He sent her the letter and did as he told her he would do.

 **Land Of Fire Coast**

Sasuke was sitting down on a bench, it was on the top of a rocky shore, facing the ocean. He stared at the waves, just waiting. He really hoped she could come. Then again, he had been there for a long while... he had to face the possibility of Sakura simply not showing up. Why did it make him feel so disappointed? There would be plenty of more time to see her. His progress at letting go of his darker emotions was almost complete. And then, just as he was about to give up hope...

"Sasuke..." the voice he yearned to hear for years sounded behind him. He turned around, there she was. Just as beautiful as she was in his dreams.

"You came..." he smirked.

"Of course I did... how could I not..." she shyly smiled. She couldn't believe it. Finally. The man she loved and hadn't seen for too long... _her_ man. She just stood there in front of him. What should she do? Should she give into her urge of just throwing herself at his arms and kiss him passionately? She got a grip of herself, this was Sasuke. Baby steps. Not that it annoyed her. She wanted to take it slow anyway. No need to rush. She couldn't help herself though, as she saw his smirk, that _damn_ smirk of his that melted her heart, she hugged him. She wanted to make sure this was real. That Sasuke was really there, that he was really hers. He hugged her back. He sure had gotten taller... and bigger. It wasn't like when they were kids anymore. Hugging him, she felt safe, this is where she was supposed to be. On Sasuke's part, he didn't fail to notice that he was much taller than Sakura now. Her hair, being below his nose, gave a very good smell. An intoxicating smell.

"You cut your hair again" he observed, once they broke the embrace.

"Yeah... I feel better when fighting if I keep it short" she blushed "did you like it better long?" Sakura couldn't believe those stupid rumors she heard as a child were actually true.

"I don't care" he simply answered "if you like it, I like it" leave it to Sasuke Uchiha to say something like that with a serious face. It still made Sakura blush even more though.

"And you... you're covering your eye with your hair now" she observed back.

"I have to rest my Rinnegan" he shrugged. He allowed Sakura to pull it to the side with her hand and look at his eye "what?"

"It does look kinda creepy..." she teased "do you _have_ to use your hair instead of covering it with something like Kakashi though?"

"I like how I look this way... don't you?" he smirked.

"I don't know..." she pondered "it makes you look like Madara..." she pointed out "and I don't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he was so scary... on the other one though, I must confess, he was extremely hot"

"Hotter than me?" Sasuke asked.

"Maybe..." Sakura bit her lip "what can I say, in case you haven't noticed, I have a thing for bad boys"

"Well, I'm your one and only bad boy, don't forget about that" he teased "and for the good of our relationship, don't ever mention that you had the hots for Madara ever again"

"Noted" she laughed "Oh, Sasuke" she said as she took his hand, both sitting down on the bench "I've missed you so much..."

"Me too..." Sasuke confessed. Sakura smiled.

"Shit" Sakura muttered as something vibrated in her pocket "they need me..." she told him. She really didn't want to go back to the mission. She just wanted to stay here with Sasuke, forever, if possible.

"Go" he said as he stood up and made her stand up as well since they were holding hands "don't jeopardize a mission just because of me"

"But..."

"Just go" he smirked "it was great to see you again Sakura... and I promise you, you will be seeing me again, very soon"

"I will be mad if you break that promise" she smirked as she walked away "and next time, you'll take me on a proper date in the Leaf"

"Deal" Sasuke said before disappearing.

 _Thanks to all of you who are dropping reviews! I really appreciate the positive feedback so far, really, it means a lot._

 _Stay tuned for the next chapter._


	16. The Prodigal Son Returns

_It's a pleasure to be able to update pretty fast considering my rhythm lately. I feel pretty inspired these days, so next one might come fast too, but don't expect too much of me hahaha_

 **Hidden Leaf's Children Mental Health Hospital**

Sakura Haruno was enjoying her lunch break. These past weeks were intense. Then again, it always was. A whole lot of children lost their parents in the 4th Great Ninja War, and it was Sakura's responsibility to help these poor children. She wouldn't complain, this was a job that she chose to begin with. She felt like she could help, she grew up with two orphans after all. She didn't expect to end up working in psychology, this was a job better suited for her best friend Ino, but her Yamanaka talents required her in more crucial jobs like black ops interrogation. She was still involved in health as she always knew she would, besides, she was still too young and inexperienced to be in Shizune's place. She was grateful she was in charge of this hospital at her young age, it was an honor.

Growing up with Naruto and Sasuke, she understood what it was like to grow up without parents. She also understood their feelings because she lost her parents herself in the 4th Great Ninja War. The real tragedy of the 4th Great Ninja War was not all the shinobi that died in battle. No. The vast majority of casualties were people that did not survive the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The Infinite Tsukuyomi sucked people's chakra, and people with low chakra levels, such as her parents, were sucked dry and died almost immediately. She missed her parents. They were good people, and the last time she saw them they were really proud of her for being a shinobi needed in battle. Her parents were proud of her for all the hard work she put in to be someone who was not from a notorious clan and end up fighting with these people. They died proud of her, and her goal in life was to make them even more proud watching her from beyond the grave. That was 3 years ago and Sakura was lucky to have people in her life to help her, not to mention that pretty much everyone she knew shared the same grief with her. Ino and Shikamaru also lost their parents. Having that support helped her, and she made it her mission for kids to have this help as well. Unlike her, these children would not have their parents when growing up to become an adult. These kids needed love and support, she would not let it happen again, the hard and horrible childhood that Naruto and Sasuke had to endure. Some kids reminded her a lot of Naruto, they would get into trouble, all to get the attention that they lost or never had. Unfortunately, a lot more kids were more like Sasuke. They were angry. They felt it wasn't fair that their parents died, and it wasn't. The goal was to help them let go of their anger and live the happy lives that their parents would want for them, not let anger consume them. Sakura helped these kids see these things and she thought that she was making progress, which made her really happy. She suffered passively what happened to Sasuke, and she doesn't want to see that happen ever again... and well, speaking of Sasuke...

It had been a little bit more than a month since they saw each other in the coast of the Land Of Fire. He told her she would see him soon. She was very happy that she and Sasuke were finally romantically involved. She always feared that Sasuke would not love her back, but that time he poked her forehead before leaving... she felt something about him she never felt before. It was hard to explain, but she somehow felt that he was telling her he loved her somehow... she had been these couple of years just waiting for him. She couldn't really visit him much since he was in prison for a year before he left. And she was disappointed that he left again. But she understood. Sasuke had some things to figure out, he had endured lots and lots of years of suffering. But when he left, he was a different man. She could tell that Sasuke was returning to be the person she fell in love with. A man that cared deeply about his loved ones and would protect them at all costs. A man passionate about justice... but in the right way. She was so happy for him every time she heard about Sasuke doing the right thing for people all over the world. Sasuke was finding himself again, and she loved him so much... she wanted nothing more than happiness for him, regardless if it was with her or not. But then she got that letter... not only did Sasuke love her back, but she discovered his romantic self. Something that no one knew about him, and only she did. Sakura was feeling truly happy for the first time in her life since her childhood. She had achieved her goals, she was helping others and she was loved by Sasuke. But maybe, she was thinking too much about Sasuke. She felt anxious for his return. Give him all the love he deserved, and receive his love in return. She told him he would come soon... but when would that be? It had been a month, maybe that was still soon for Sasuke. He hadn't even written her a letter. She became worried. She tried to rationalize it, how could something happen to one of the 2 strongest men in the world? But it didn't work.

She shook her head. She had to do something else than thinking about Sasuke in her free time. It was driving her insane. She considered herself a patient woman, and this was not like her at all. If she kept this up, it would affect her professional duties and she could not allow that, why was she obsessing about this so much? She should be happy, not feel anxious. She finished her meal and threw away the plastic plate she was using. She should take a walk or something, and stop obsessing over Sasuke's return.

"I'm home Sakura" she heard his voice speak behind her. At first she thought her mind was being unnecessarily cruel to her and made her hear him just as she thought about something else. But she turned around, and he was there. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure this was not a fucked up hallucination or genjutsu.

"Sasuke!" she let out a scream as she hugged him. She heard him chuckle and he hugged her back "you're... you're back!"

"Yes. I'm finally back" he reassured her as he saw her cry a little bit.

"You... you _idiot!_ You said _soon!_ A month is not soon! And you haven't written me! I was so worried!" She said as she cried and punched his chest.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't afford to think about you too much, it would have delayed my... _therapy_ and I wanted to come back as soon as possible" he excused himself.

"Well... I said I'd be mad. And I am!" she broke the embrace.

"Are you really _mad_ at me?" he smirked.

"Yes!" she scolded "plus, how did you sneakpast security in this building!" she demanded.

"I teleported here" he explained.

"Right _here?_ " she asked. Now it made sense, how she didn't even feel his chakra.

"Yeah" he nodded.

"So you came straight to me?" she asked. He nodded. She blushed. She was the first one he decided to visit. Not Kakashi, not Naruto, her. "But wait, how did you know I was here? You don't even know this place, it's recently built"

"I teleported to where your chakra was"

"So you've been stalking me via chakra?" she teased.

"No. I wasn't _stalking_ you" Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura giggled. "Anyway. I made you a promise"

"You did" Sakura grinned "Well I'm working right now... but I'm free tonight"

"I'll come pick you up when you're finished then"

"Nope" Sakura shook her head "you're taking me on a proper date, I have to get dressed accordingly. And so do you. You are _not_ wearing that tonight, I can't even imagine how filthy it must be after so many years traveling" she pointed at Sasuke's coat.

"I'm not wearing a suit" Sasuke glared.

"That's not what I meant, you dummy. Just change into something... decent, _clean_ " she observed.

"Fine" Sasuke closed his eyes. Since when was Sakura so bossy to him and since when was he willing to comply?

"Pick me up at my place at 7" she grinned again "and let me give you a hint, it's our first proper date, so I'm expecting you to act like a gentleman" she teased.

"Don't push your luck" Sasuke gave her an annoyed glare.

"Okay okay" Sakura laughed "now, let me go back to work, and you go report to Kakashi, you should have gone to him first to begin with" she told him. Sasuke nodded and turned back making his way out of her office "wait Sasuke! I haven't told you where I live now!" she called him.

"I'll ask the loser" she heard him say as she lost sight of him.

 **Hokage's Office**

"So what team of genin are you going to assign to me? Come on Kakashi-sensei! Just tell me already!" Naruto whined.

"Go away Naruto, I'm not telling you that yet" Kakashi lazily answered "your mission report is done, as Hokage, I _order_ you to let me get back to work"

"I _know_ you already assigned me a team! Why can't you just tell me now?" Naruto persisted. Kakashi was about to get serious with him when the door opened and his assistant walked in.

"Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked her.

"Someone just came back from a long mission" she said as she let someone in.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"Still as loud as ever I see" he answered. Naruto smirked as he offered his fist. Sasuke nodded and bumped fists with him.

"So you're finally back..." Kakashi observed.

"For now, Kakashi" he smirked.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei is the 6th Hokage now, show some respect you bastard!" Naruto grinned.

"You're not one to talk Naruto... I thought I _ordered_ you to leave already" Kakashi glared.

"Fine fine" Naruto laughed "I guess you have tons of stuff to report Sasuke! I'll wait for you outside and we can catch up when you're done!" Naruto yelled as he exited the room.

"Have a seat Sasuke... this is going to take a while" Kakashi said as he was not looking forward to write a report covering more than 2 years of Sasuke's little _adventure_.

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop. Hours later.**

Ino Yamanaka was lazily doing her nails. She was bored. She wasn't sure if she preferred busy days or uneventful days like this one. At least she would have some human interactions, even if she was busy. Now, there was just no one there and she was forced to say in her shop doing _nothing_. If there's one thing that Ino hates, it's being so damn bored. Her face lit up as she heard a bell indicating someone entered her shop. Finally, something to do to snap her out of it.

"Naurto Uzumaki" she smirked "here to get some flowers for Hinata? You're doing the right thing, it's been ages since you did something romantic for her"

"Oh no, it's not me" Naruto grinned before shouting at someone outside "get in here man!" he yelled as he grabbed someone and forced him inside the shop.

"I just don't see why I have to buy her flowers!" Sasuke Uchiha entered the shop with a very annoyed expression, not clear if he was embarrassed or angry.

"Sasuke Uchiha..." Ino observed. This was the _last_ thing she was expecting to happen today. Sakura did tell her that she and Sasuke were a couple now, and that he promised her he'd take her out on a proper date sometime soon. Still, she was not expecting him to buy her flowers in her shop, what were the odds!?

"She said a _proper_ date didn't she!?" Naruto glared at Sasuke "trust me, you _need_ to bring her flowers!"

"Sakura is not that kind of girl" Sasuke answered.

" _Every_ girl wants her boyfriend to give her flowers Sasuke!" Naruto yelled "Back me up here Ino! You're her best friend! You would know!"

"I'm afraid Naruto's right" Ino answered "And Sakura is definitely _that_ kind of girl Sasuke. And to think I could be jealous of Sakura, you really are worthless when it comes to actually dating a woman aren't you" she teased him. Sasuke glared.

"Told ya!" Naruto grinned.

"You're literally the one person who can't lecture others on romantic things, Naruto" Ino scolded him.

"Hey! I treat Hinata the best I can!" Naruto defended himself.

"And that's clearly not good enough..." Ino lazily answered.

"So... what flowers does Sakura like?" Sasuke asked Ino, trying to appear non chalant, but failing miserably.

"Oh don't you think I'm helping you with my best friend knowledge Uchiha" Ino glared "do you have any idea of how lonely she was with all of our weddings? She was here waiting for you while you were out there doing god knows what" she scolded. She really was somewhat upset with him, she saw her best friend suffer too much for years, and although she was glad that Sasuke _finally_ confessed to her, she wanted to let him know she wasn't cool with that "I hear you asked him to be your best man and he didn't even show up Naruto, you shouldn;t help him out either, you're too forgiving for your own good"

"Don't be too harsh on him, he had some stuff to work through!" Naruto stood up for his friend "I for one am glad that he's finally _woken up_ and is treating Sakura how she deserves!" he nudged Sasuke's elbow. Sasuke rolled his eyes "just tell us will ya? Sakura deserves to have her favourite flowers for this date she's been waiting for like forever!"

"If he's worthy of Sakura's love he'll choose the right flowers" Ino said as she decided to read a magazine she had on the counter.

"Tch. Women" Naruto sighed. Ino did not humor his cheap shot and simply flipped a page letting them know she was ignoring them "Let's just get them ourselves then" Naruto announced as they looked at the flowers there. Ino was watching them go through the flowers, she was actually surprised that Sasuke was actually taking this seriously. "Get her these!" Naruto yelled as he pointed at his choice.

"Cherry blossoms?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "Idiot. That's way too obvious" Sasuke dismissed Naruto's suggestion. Ino sighed at Naruto's typical simplicity, and was actually glad Sasuke made that call. Sakura was indeed _sick_ of people giving her cherry blossoms. She looked at Sasuke as he stopped and stared at some specific flowers, perhaps that was his choice.

"Roses?" Naruto said as he noticed Sasuke looking at them "So much for not being _obvious_ , this is _the_ cliche" Naruto threw his arms around his head.

"Red is Sakura's favourite color" Sasuke explained. _Bingo_ Ino thought, perhaps he wasn't as clueless as she thought he was "and these are no ordinary roses"

"Really? I can't tell" Naruto asked.

"I should know. I've been out and seen my fair share of flowers" he said. "I'm going with these" he announced.

"So these flowers then?" Ino asked as she picked a bouquet of Sasuke's choice. She was actually rather impressed. Not a bad choice at all. Not Sakura's favorite flowers, but she knew she would like them. She wouldn't tell him that though. "That will be 700 ryo" she told Sasuke.

"For _flowers_?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"You are right about one thing, these are no ordinary flowers" she winked.

"Damn it" Sasuke complained as he paid what he thought was too much for them. Nonetheless, he could read Ino's actions and he knew he made the right choice.

"Thank you for buying flowers from our shop!" Ino smiled "I hope I see you more times around here Sasuke!"

"And I hope you don't rip me off those times" Sasuke hissed.

"Come on dude, don't be so cheap!" Naruto laughed as they exited the shop. Ino smiled as they left. It looked like Sasuke cared indeed about Sakura, and she was very happy for her best friend.

 **Sakura's apartment**

"Come in Sasuke! I'll be ready in a couple of minutes!" Sakura yelled as she felt Sasuke on her door and heard him knock.

Sasuke hessitantly opened the door and let himself in. So this was where Sakura lived. A pretty small place he noticed, he sat in a couch in the living room/kitchen and looked at the place. He only saw 2 doors. One open, where he could see Sakura's bedroom, and a closed door that he assumed was the bathroom and where Sakura was. He waited patiently, he knew that a couple of minutes meant more. After about 5 minutes, he heard the door open and stood up.

"I know it's not impressive, but it works for me. I'm barely home anyway" Sakura explained as she walked out of the bathroom. Sasuke stared at her. He had never seen Sakura with make up. He honestly preferred her natural look, but she was really beautiful this way too. He also noticed the red sleeveless dressed she was wearing, which really highlighted her features that were not as visible with her shinobi clothes. He really liked seeing her breasts and her curvy body. She really had grown up to become a beautiful woman.

"You look beautiful, Sakura" he complimented after staring for what could have been too long.

"Thank you..." Sakura blushed. And yes, she did feel him staring. Not that she complained about it. "Well I'm glad you decided to dress up a bit more formally too" he didn't actually suit up, but he was wearing a white shirt and formal pants "I don't like the coat though"

"It's not the same one"

"I know, but it's still black"

"These are for you" Sasuke changed the subject as he showed her the flowers.

"Wow! You actually brought me flowers!" Sakura cheered as she picked them up. Beautiful dark red roses. She smelled them. She really liked them "Did Ino help you choose these?" she inquired.

"As a matter of fact, she didn't. She wouldn't help me for leaving you all alone she said, she wanted to test my worthiness by picking the right flowers" he explained.

"Well you _are_ worthy" she laughed "look at you, dressing all formal and bringing me flowers! You really are acting like a gentleman! I really appreciate it Sasuke!" she said as she gave him a peck on his cheek. Sasuke blushed a little, causing Sakura to giggle.

"Anyway. I assume you want to go to a restaurant. It will have to be your choice, since I'm technically new in town, but I'll pay" Sasuke said.

"Fair enough" she said as she put her finger on her lip, thinking of a romantic restaurant for the date "well there is one that I would like to go to... but it's kind of expensive"

"That one then" Sasuke answered.

"Sasuke! I said it was expensive!"

"And? I can afford it" Sasuke smirked.

"I can't let you do that"

"I insist"

"Is this because of me telling you to be a gentleman? In that case, don't worry about it"

"No Sakura, really, it will be my pleasure to treat you, if you really want to go to this restaurant"

"Sasuke..."

"Come on, we're going" Sasuke said as he went around Sakura and offered his right arm, since he had no left arm to offer.

"Fine... thank you Sasuke... really" she said as she took his arm and both walked out of the apartment "by the way... I can make you a left arm with Lord First's cells" she offered as they walked to the restaurant.

"No" Sasuke simply answered.

"Why not? You must really miss your left hand. You're a leftie" Sakura insisted.

"I'd rather not talk about this right now" he answered.

"Okay..." Sakura gave a disappointed expression.

"Not because I don't want to tell you" Sasuke said as he noticed Sakura's shift in her mood "this is our first date, it's about enjoying each other's company, talking about those things can be a downer" Sakura nodded.

"Second date" she smiled.

"Second?" Sakura nodded again "you consider those 5 minutes a date?"

"You did ask me to come and I did right?" Sakura asked.

"I guess so" Sasuke answered.

"Then it was a date" Sakura rested her head on his shoulder.

"If you say so..." Sasuke smirked.

Sasuke and Sakura went to the restaurant, which was indeed fancy and only people that were known to have money were there. No familiar faces for them to greet. On their way to the restaurant they did notice some people staring, or downright glaring at the couple. Sasuke was happy to see that he did not care and he decided to enjoy the night with Sakura. It didn't bother Sakura either. Sakura was aware that many people would judge her for being Sasuke's girlfriend. But she didn't care. She knew what Sasuke was really like, and she loved him, the judgemental ignorant people could suck it as far as she was concerned, Sasuke was the love of her life and she no longer cared about the public opinion, unlike when she was younger. They had a peaceful dinner, in which they filled in each other about what they did these last years that they didn't tell each other. Sakura told Sasuke about her new job and her goals, and Sasuke really liked and supported them. Sasuke told her about his trips and how things were at the smaller villages. Sakura had some idea about how unfortunate the smaller nations were, but she didn't know the full extent of it. She was glad Sasuke could tell her his experiences first hand, and could feel that Sasuke wanted to go back someday in the future... right there and then, Sakura decided that if he did, she would go with him. Sakura was specifically proud of Sasuke when he told her about him saving the girl from the Chinoike clan and freeing those enslaved people from special clans. Naruto told her about that since she had a hand with the exploding humans incident and was expecting to see him after it ended. She saw the results, but hearing it from him... she was so happy for him. The Sasuke she fell in love it was officially back, and she was his girlfriend.

After finishing the dinner and Sasuke paying for it all in spite of Sakura trying to pay for some of it, Sasuke walked her back home. There was barely any talking on the walk back. Sakura realized that she would have much more moments like this with Sasuke. No talking. Just comfortable silence. Enjoying each other's company without a single word being spoken. She liked it. She knew that Sasuke liked taking silent walks, and she loved sharing one with him. She hoped they shared many more in the future. Finally, they arrived at her door. Time flew by, it was already almost midnight and they didn't even notice.

"I would love to invite you in for a drink or something, but it's late and I have to wake up early tomorrow" Sakura said.

"I understand" Sasuke nodded.

"Thank you for the date and walking me back Sasuke... I had a wonderful time" Sakura smiled.

"Me too" Sasuke answered "let's do it again soon"

"It can't be tomorrow or the day after but I can do Friday" Sakura offered.

"Works for me... I'm also going to be busy the next couple of days... lots of things to fix about my status as a shinobi"

"Like?"

"Well... getting my title back for starters, Kakashi said I might even have to take exams for the rank of chunin"

"Oh my god..." Sakura started laughing like a maniac "I forgot! You're technically still a genin!" she laughed even more.

"And why is that so funny?" Sasuke glared.

"Oh come on Sasuke, you're like the strongest guy someone can imagine and you're still a genin! You know, it was just like this for Naruto too after the war ended! Practically a god, but still a genin!" she continued to laugh, which was clearly not amusing Sasuke "I'm sorry Sasuke, I didn't hurt your pride did I?" she teased.

"Like you could" Sasuke huffed. But Sakura knew she did.

"Don't be so mad at me, I told you I'm sorry" she said as she put her hand on his face and made him look at her.

"Not forgiven" Sasuke said as he took her hand on his face. When both of their hands touched, they felt it. Like an electric spark. Their brains were switched into an animal, pure instinct mode and they started getting closer to each other.

"Not yet" Sakura spoke up as their lips were just inches away.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked.

"No kissing until the third date... it's a rule"

"I think it's a stupid rule" Sasuke said as he intensely looked into her emerald eyes. Sakura found him... irresistible, like if his sharingan was active and commanded her to do as he said.

"I... agree with you" Sakura said as she gave in.

Their lips touched each other. Not having enough with a simple touch, they both opened their mouths wider and kissed each other more passionately. Sasuke made the first move and introduced his tongue in Sakura's mouth, Sakura, a bit taken aback at first, completely gave in and answered with the same action. They separated to gasp for air. Sakura licked her lips. She could taste Sasuke... and she liked it. Sasuke tasted a bit of lipstick he guessed... but he didn't care. Sakura was the one to take the initiative the second time, wrapping her arm around Sasuke's neck and pulling him down for another kiss. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist, making Sakura let out a small moan that made him kiss her even harder. Sakura jumped into Sasuke's arm so she could be at his height, Sasuke held her with his only arm so they could kiss even better at the same height. Sakura felt Sasuke's manhood... which caused her to wrap her legs around him. A thump indicated that Sasuke had pushed Sakura a bit too violently against her door, but she didn't let that stop it. She actually liked it. They kept kissing each other passionately for a long time. Sakura finally let Sasuke go and got back on her feet.

"Uh..." she blushed, not knowing what to say "so much for not being intimate until the third date" she flashed a guilty smile, her face still being inches away from Sasuke's.

"I can think of... other ways to be intimate in our next date" Sasuke said as he kissed her again, he then went for her neck.

"You sure are going..." she had to let out a gasp of pleasure before finishing her sentence "fast"

"Is there another rule for that?" he asked before stopping and kissing her neck again.

"Probably... but I would break it too" she said as caressed Sasuke's hair "I guess we have been waiting long enough" she said as she pulled his head up to kiss him again.

"We have" Sasuke said after they gasped for air. He was about to kiss her again but she put her finger on his lips.

"I'm going to stop you right there..." she said "because if I let you go on we will have to actually _finish_ things..."

"Fair enough..." he smirked. His animal side was desperate to fuck her brains out, but his rational side agreed, they should wait until next date.

"I'm sorry for ending things like this... but I should really go to sleep you know..." she smiled.

"I know" Sasuke sighed as he finally let Sakura go.

"That was amazing Sasuke..." Sakura said as she finally opened the door to her apartment. She felt Sasuke touching her forehead with his finger.

"I'll see you on Friday" Sasuke said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah... Bye Sasuke. Love you" she said as she entered her house. Sasuke finally left to let her sleep.

Sakura dreamily sighed as she rested her back against the other side of the door, the opposite position of just a moment ago... she could still feel his lips on hers. She could still feel him kissing her neck and giving her a ridiculous amount of pleasure. But what stuck with her... was that forehead poke. Again. What did that mean and why did it feel so... right?

 _To be continued..._


	17. Love

**Hidden Leaf Children's Mental Health Hospital**

Sakura Haruno finished early her shift at the Hospital. After two days working without rest, she couldn't wait for her next date with Sasuke, so she was planning to go pick him up at the Hokage building, where she knew he was working now. Kakashi told her what Sasuke's job was. She was talking to her colleagues, saying her good byes and instructing to her right hand assistant what to do in her absence, when she received a phone call.

"Hello?" she said as she opened her flip phone.

" _Hey there Mrs. Uchiha!_ " her best friend yelled through the speaker. Sakura's face burned red as she noticed her colleagues heard that, and gave her an evil grin, Sakura rushed back to her office and closed the door behind her.

"Ino! What the hell!" she demanded.

" _Sorry"_ Ino laughed " _Bad timing?_ "

"The _worst_ Ino pig!" Sakura yelled "my colleagues heard that! Now they are going to tease me about it and I'm supposed to be their leader!"

" _Oh don't sweat it billboard brow, only like,_ everyone _knows about your date with him and you're the big news of the shinobi's gossiping world these days_ "

"You're kidding" Sakura's face went from red to pale.

" _I'm afraid not. Tsunade's star pupil snatches the last Uchiha survivor, that's the headline of this article I'm reading right now_ "

"Damn it..." Sakura sighed "well whatever, I will stick with doing what these people obviously don't, living my own life"

" _Fair enough_ " Ino laughed " _anyway, how come you haven't called me, you know, your best friend, and tell me everything about it?_ "

"I've been kind of busy"

" _Sure... Anyway, tell me billboard brow, does the Uchiha name hold its reputation in the sack?"_

"I'm _not_ telling you that!"

" _Which means you didn't have sex. I knew it, you are such a prude billboard brow. You have technically been in a long distance relationship until now, no one would judge you for getting physical, but the opposite... I bet you didn't even kiss him"_

"For your information Ino pig, we did kiss" Sakura defended herself, but of course, she wouldn't confess that if it was up to her, her best friend would have been spot on.

" _Oh my god! Sakura! You dirty slut!"_ Ino half squealed, half laughed.

"Remind me why we're best friends again?"

" _Sorry, sorry... anyway how was the kiss? Actually, save it for a bit, I know you're free now so I'm hanging out with you and you're telling me everything, to the tiniest detail"_

"Can't do Ino... I'm actually going out with Sasuke again tonight... and it's a special occasion..."

" _Oh... wait a minute! Tonight is the BIG night isn't it!? Sakura, I am NOT letting you go out with him until we get you ready! We still have about 2 hours, no ifs, ands or buts!"_

"I..." Sakura started, but she was right, and she was actually nervous, she definitely could use Ino's help "would appreciate that, Ino"

" _Don't mention it Sakura! I'll be right there!"_ Ino hung up.

Sakura went out of her office and ignored the grins from her colleagues as she made her way back home.

 **Hokage Building**

"Come in" Sasuke said as he heard a knock on the door of his office, on the ground floor of the Hokage building.

"Hey!" Naruto Uzumaki entered with his trademark grin on his face "I had to see it to believe it! You actually are Kakashi sensei's assistant!" he let out a whistle as he looked around the room "you even have your own office and everything! Shikamaru's is way better though..."

"Yeah well, it's not as good as it sounds, I have to do pretty much all of his paperwork" Sasuke sighed.

"So I take it it's what you have to do to get your ninja title back" Naruto observed "He has like 5 assistants, this looks like some sort of punishment to me" he continued after looking at all the paperwork Sasuke was responsible for.

"I have to agree. Then again, he has cut me some slack these last years so I'll take what I can get" Sasuke answered. Naruto nodded.

"So this is all you have to do? How long?"

"3 months minimum, but I won't be surprised if they end up being more" Sasuke explained "Also, I'll have to take an exam to get the jonin title"

"Oh! Same thing happened with me! I can help you with the exam ya'know!" Naruto offered. Sasuke stared.

"I'll pass"

"Okay, you're good at exams, I'm not. You don't have to be such a dick about it..." Naruto sweatdropped.

Naruto just stood there doing nothing for a minute or two, looking at Sasuke work, which was starting to annoy him.

"What do you want. I'm kind of busy" Sasuke demanded as he organized some papers.

"Oh right. I actually have a gift for you" Naruto said as he took something out of his pocket.

"A gift?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow as he looked at Naruto.

"It's a cell phone! You know, like a regular phone, but with no wires or anything! You can carry it with you wherever! It's amazing how tec-"

"I know what it is. My travels took me to civilized places too" Sasuke interrupted.

"Right" Naruto said as he tried giving to Sasuke.

"I can't take it" Sasuke left Naruto hanging.

"Sasuke, I didn't buy it for you or anything. This is my old phone, I just got a new one, figured I should give it to you instead of just throwing it away" Naruto insisted.

"In that case..." Sasuke nodded as he took the phone.

"You're still a stubborn and self centered bastard you know that?" Naruto grinned.

"And you're still a sore loser" Sasuke smirked. He studied what was his new phone.

"You don't know how to use it don't you..." Naruto smirked as Sasuke failed to make it work.

"No..." Sasuke painfully admitted.

"It's alright, I'll show you" Naruto said as he helped his friend "you turn it on with this button. This green button is to take a call. The red one to decline it. You're actually lucky that pretty much everyone's number is already here..." Naruto explained as he taught Sasuke how to use it.

After Naruto spending a while in there showing Sasuke how to use his new cell phone, Sasuke still had to finish his work. He sighed and looked at the clock. He knew Sakura was finishing early today and he was sorry she would have to wait for him, so he got back into it and finished all the paperwork as fast as he could. It was all pretty standard reports, a boring, mindless routine job that would bore the standard person to death. He could see why Kakashi didn't want to do it. And yes, he was definitely aware that Kakashi took advantage of the situation and passed these tasks to him, but Kakashi risked his ass for his sake for years, so Sasuke had no problem doing this for him to compensate for the excuses he had to make for him.

About an hour passed, and Sasuke finished. That was faster than he expected. The evening had just started. He still had plenty of time to have a good date with Sakura. He figured he should use his phone for the first time. He found the contacts menu, and after scrolling through tons of contacts he didn't even recognize, he finally saw Sakura's name and pressed the green button. He waited as couple of beeps sounded on the speaker.

" _Hello_?" he heard a female voice, but it didn't sound like Sakura.

"Is this Sakura's phone?" he asked, hoping his first call wasn't the wrong number.

" _Yes, this is Sakura's phone, who's asking?"_

"It's Sasuke"

" _Oh, Sasuke! Didn't know you had a phone!_ "

"Naruto gave me his old phone, who is this?"

" _I'm Ino! Sakura's busy getting ready for your date!_ "

"Hn... Tell her I'm on my way to her place"

" _No you can't come here yet!"_ she yelled, taking Sasuke aback " _wait a sec_ "

"Excuse me?" Sasuke demanded, not believing the nerve of the Yamanaka. He heard a couple of yells he couldn't comprehend.

" _Listen, Sakura will meet with you at the entrance bridge in an hour. Be there._ "

"An hour? And stop giving me orders, Yamanaka"

" _I'm merely your girlfriend's messenger Uchiha. Now be a good boyfriend and be there in an hour. Ciao!"_ she hung up. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he looked at the phone. He did not recall that blonde girl being like this to him, ever. Apparently girls treat you differently when they know you're not interested in them. He wasn't sure if this Ino Yamanaka was more annoying than the other one he knew before. He sighed, whatever, he was looking forward to spending more time with Sakura. He took a half hour nap and went to their meeting spot.

 **Hidden Leaf River**

Sasuke was surprised to spot a unique pink hair on a bench, she was there earlier than him. He checked the time, and he was 5 minutes early himself. Nonetheless, he was happy to see her. He hadn't seen her since their last date.

"You're early" he spoke up. He saw Sakura stand up and turn around, a smile on her face.

"Yeah... I guess Ino miscalculated" she answered.

"Hn..." Sasuke grunted as he stood there. Not knowing what to do. They had already kissed. Should he kiss her to greet her? Was that what couples did? Or should he go for a hug? Sakura was surprised with herself to notice Sasuke's indecision. She could now read him like a book. She could tell Sasuke was somehow embarrassed and didn't know what to do. Realizing that the almighty Sasuke Uchiha was no more than a shy boy when it came to kissing her in public, she took the initiative and gave him a quick kiss.

"I didn't know you can be so shy Sasuke" She smirked as she saw a little blush on his face.

"I'm _not_ shy" he growled.

"Sure" she giggled. It amazed her that she was getting to know a whole new Sasuke now that they were dating. She also liked it. She had been all her life relying on Sasuke to save her life and watching his back, she was glad it was her turn to be the leader for a change.

"Anyway..." he decided to change the subject "want to go to the movies today?" he offered.

"Nope. After last time, I'm not letting you spend any money on me today" she answered.

"Well I _want_ to spend money on you" he insisted.

"Sasuke I didn't know you'd be such a gentleman, I was expecting the opposite" she teased. She also noticed that challenging his pride and masculinity was way more amusing than she thought.

"I guess my mother raised me that way" Sasuke let out. As soon as it came out of his mouth he was surprised. With Sakura, he was so comfortable that he'd suddenly let out such thoughts out loud. He would always think before speaking, and especially speaking of his mother, he could not let out such a thought in any other circumstance. His mother did teach him to treat the women in his life with respect since a very young age, something he forgot, and only remembered in these recent years that he let go of the anger from losing her.

"Well, she did a good job..." Sakura smiled. She did not fail to notice that it was the first time she had ever seen Sasuke speak of his mother, and even more so, with a glimpse of happiness on his face remembering her.

"That's why I insist on taking you to the movies" he said.

"I was thinking we could do something more _romantic_... and _free_ " she started "I told you to come here because I wanted to just lie on the hills over there and watch the sunset"

"There's still some time left for that" Sasuke pointed out.

"Yeah as I said... Ino _miscalculated_ a bit" she laughed. Sasuke actually took the time to look at Sakura now. She was wearing her everyday clothes, nothing too flashy like the last time... so he wondered.

"Just what were you doing with her? She told me you were getting ready?" he asked.

"We were just having some girl time, I don't know why she said that" she lied. Luckily for her Sasuke was clueless and nodded, buying her story. She was indeed getting ready, just with things that Sasuke could not see... yet.

"Well, let me buy you a drink or something in the mean time" Sasuke responded.

"Nice try" Sakura laughed "but no, if you're going to be such a gentleman just let us do as I say, let's just lie down and enjoy each other's company while we wait" she smiled as she took Sasuke's hand...

"Alright" Sasuke sighed as he admitted defeat and followed her.

"Well... I heard about this, but I wasn't expecting to actually see it" someone said. They looked at the side where it came from.

"Shikamaru! Temari! What are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Just looking at the clouds... it's the only romantic thing I can get out of him. Especially these days since we only see each other to plan the wedding and stuff" Temari explained.

"Right... it must be a nightmare" Sakura laughed.

"And we have to bring all her people from the Sand... a real drag" Shikamaru complained. Temari rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's catchphrase.

"Long time no see Uchiha..." Temari greeted "when did you get back?"

"A couple of days ago" Sasuke answered.

"Yeah, he's with me in Kakashi's assistant team" Shikamaru spoke up.

"And you can't tell your _fiancee_ about Sasuke Uchiha returning to the Hidden Leaf!?" Temari angrily scolded him.

"Didn't know you'd care" Shikamaru shrugged.

"I swear I do not know what I see in you" Temari sighed. Sakura laughed. "Anyway... good to see you, Sasuke. You look different... You remind me more of the guy I saw in the chunin exams, and not the psycho I saw in the 5 Kage Summit"

"You can't just bring that up like that woman, why do you have to be so troublesome..."

"I didn't mean to offend him. My brother was way more psychotic back then and he's redeemed himself. I meant it as a compliment" Temari explained herself.

"None offense taken" Sasuke nodded. What Sasuke thought about when hearing that is that he wanted to talk to Gaara, since he wanted to thank him for trying to reach out to him and stopping his fight with Ay, since he never got the chance. Sakura remained quiet and observed Sasuke, relieved that he was so mature about the whole thing.

"See? No harm done" Temari told Shikamaru.

"You were lucky..." Shikamaru sighed "anyway, you two must be in a date so we'll leave you to it"

"Thank you Shikamaru, and it was good seeing you" Sakura smiled.

"By the way Sasuke, our wedding is in a couple of weeks, since you're here, you're more than welcome to come" Shikamaru said as they started walking away.

"I appreciate that" Sasuke thanked.

"I completely forgot!" Sakura spoke up as they were alone again "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about their wedding! You'll be my +1 right? Please!"

"Your +1? That's what I am to you?" Sasuke smirked.

"You know that's not what I mean" Sakura said as she playfully punched his shoulder.

"I did just sort of confirm to Shikamaru, so I have no choice" Sasuke smirked as they sat down on the hill.

"Why can't you just say yes and not be a smart ass?" she laughed as she hit him again.

"You know... you've picked up a habit of hitting me" Sasuke pointed out.

"You're right! I'm so sorry Sasuke I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay" Sasuke interrupted her "That... _fiery_ personality of yours is one of the things I like about you. I must confess that it annoyed me back when we were kids, the fact that you'd walk on eggshells around me" he explained. Sakura blushed "be yourself around me Sakura, I love you and I know that you hitting me is part of the package" Sakura simply hugged him in response. That was so romantic. Sort of. Then again, we are talking about Sasuke.

"Thank you Sasuke..." she said "I must warn you though, I sometimes can't control my monster strength, so that would be on you" she joked as she pulled away, to see Sasuke smiling "and I'm sorry for being emotional for something so little..." she said as she felt her eyes getting a bit watery.

"Part of the package" he smirked again. She playfully hit him again.

"Sasuke?" she spoke up after some silence.

"Hn?"

"I'm also a bit of a loudmouth..." she started, as Sasuke did just technically give her his blessing to ask him something "there's been something in my mind lately and I just have to ask... ever since you did this" she poked her own forehead with her fingers "to me, I can't stop thinking about it... it seemed familiar for some reason... and I recently remembered..." Sasuke stared as Sakura tried to get it out "if you don't want to talk about it just tell me, I'll understand"

"Just get it out" Sasuke nodded.

"It was when we were little kids... I saw your brother do that to you when he came pick you up one time..."

"Yes..." Sasuke simply responded as he took a deep breath. He would have to talk about Itachi with Sakura eventually, he was prepared for this.

"Itachi... he was a good man wasn't he? I've asked Naruto and Kakashi, but they would never answer... Itachi killed the Uchiha clan to avoid a war didn't he? I heard you and Naruto talking about the _truth_ about Itachi and I put two and two together... but I might be wrong" Sasuke just stared at Sakura. She figured it out when no one told her. She just loved him that much and went out of her way to understand what he was feeling... and she was so smart and sharp, one of the many reasons he found her so attractive "Please tell me if I'm wrong... and please say something, I don't want to make you feel bad..."

"Sakura..." Sasuke started "You're right. Itachi made the decision of killing the clan. If the Uchiha had indeed revolted, that was the perfect chance for other countries to attack the Land Of Fire. Itachi stopped that. He did that for the Leaf's sake... and for my sake. That was the reason for me joining the Akatsuki... and me telling you I wanted to destroy the Leaf... I know, I should have carried Itachi's will... but I was so _angry_. My parents died. My clan died. I spent my entire life hating my brother, when I should have had him with me... My brother should have been Hokage. But because he was an Uchiha, he had to carry that burden... at the time, it made perfect sense for me to just destroy it all... I did have a change of heart... my revolution was about doing what Itachi did on a global scale. Now I see things differently..." Sakura saw that Sasuke was getting emotional, speaking up about that when it was clear the he never did. His voice even cracked sometimes... she couldn't help it. She wrapped her arms around him. She was so grateful he decided to share this with her. She had an idea... but she never knew if it was really true. And seeing how it affected him. It broke her heart. "why are you hugging me?" he asked.

"Because you need a hug... I'm so sorry Sasuke... I'm so so sorry, about everything" she cried.

"It wasn't your fault"

"It just... _breaks my heart_ to know that you had to go through that... I don't want to see you suffer Sasuke, I love you..."

"I used to think that you could never understand it... but now I can clearly see that you do. Please don't cry Sakura. I can't see you cry for me..." he said as he tried to console her.

"I'm sorry... It's not just for you... seeing you like this... I can't help thinking about my parents too... I miss them so much Sasuke. I truly do understand you now. And I know it's a messed up thing to say..." she said again as she tried to stop crying. But she couldn't. She just cried more and more and couldn't even say comprehensive words. Sasuke just hugged her tighter. He knew she lost her family too, and it had to be hard for her... he knew though, that there was little more to do than just letting her cry for now.

"You know Sakura" Sasuke spoke up, he needed to get something off his chest, this was as good a time as any "Itachi's plan failed because of one reason: me. He still had to care for me. You can't watch anything from the shadows if you have someone you love out there. My revolution would have also failed..." he said as he put his hand under Sakura's chin and forced her to look up at him "because I had _you_ to care for. I know... I tried to kill you... but I just couldn't do it. Also, I tried to kill you because you tried to kill me first. But I understand Sakura, why you did it... and you stopped. I want you to know... that I would have stopped too... for the very same reason..." he finally let out.

"That is the most fucked up, yet also the most romantic thing you've ever said to me" she said as they looked into each other's eyes "and this is not the way to stop me from crying!" she said as she felt she was sobbing like a baby again.

"I can't stand to see you cry from sadness... but I can from happiness... I can see the difference" he told her as he pulled her for another embrace. They stayed minuted hugging each other, Sakura crying out all the tears she had to cry, and Sasuke tearing up himself, but much more subtly. After Sakura finally stopped crying, she looked up at Sasuke, who simply lifted her head up with his hand and pulled her for a kiss. The kiss was much different than the previous ones they shared. This one had so many emotions in it. Love, sadness, compassion, anger... it is not possible to describe with words. But both felt the same thing, this was the kiss that truly brought them together. After this kiss, their relationship would never be the same. Now they were united for life. Both shared everything with each other. After kissing, Sakura rested her head on Sasuke's chest again.

"Thank you Sasuke... for telling me the truth" she finally said, she had no tears left to cry.

"There are still things I have to tell you... I will tell you someday..." he said as he rubbed her arm with his fingers.

"Take all the time you need..." she smiled.

No more words were spoken while they were sitting there. They just stayed in the same position and watched the sunset. Sakura was so happy that Sasuke shared his pain with her... as well as her sharing hers with his. She was a bit ashamed that the only thing she could do was cry. She decided that she shouldn't cry anymore, but be happy that she now had the love of her life with her, and do everything in her power so that Sasuke could have the happiness he deserved. Sasuke was happier indeed... sharing his dark secrets with Sakura... it emptied something that desperately needed emptying. And it really did make him feel awful to see Sakura cry for him... he could only imagine how many times that happened and he simply didn't see it. He wanted to change those cries to smiles and laughter...a phrase he said not that long ago sounded in his head ' _they're all laughing... smiling and laughing when they're just ignorant of everything! I want to change those laughs into screams and cries of misery!'..._ well he did just that. He turned Sakura's happy self into a sobbing and devastated person once she heard the truth, and all the times she cried for him while he was in the darkness... and it destroyed him. He was so different now... he was so glad he changed and could see Sakura laugh and smile in the future. His hatred was successfully turned into love. Now that Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi shared the burden of the Uchiha clan with him... he finally saw a future where everyone could smile. The future that his mother would have wanted to see... and not the future he envisioned once.

 **Sakura's apartment**

The door of Sakura's place opened violently to reveal Sakura and Sasuke passionately kissing each other. None of them could exactly remember how they got their selves into this situation. Not many words were spoken... as they watched the sunset, Sasuke walked Sakura back to her place. Some small talk happened, where Sakura might have mentioned what they agreed would happen this night. Next thing they knew, they were making out and hurrying back here. Sakura jumped into Sasuke's embrace and he walked to where her bedroom was, never putting Sakura down. Sasuke dropped Sakura on her bed and followed suit, only pausing their kissing for less than a second. Sakura wrapped her legs around his and her arms around his neck, while Sasuke's hands went down to her bottom area. Sasuke had been too much time repressing the urge to grab Sakura's ass... and boy was the wait worth it. Sakura didn't waste time either and took his shirt off, as fast she could so she could resume her kissing him. Sasuke took it as green light to take her pants off. He went from her ass to her thigh, which he started caressing, causing Sakura to let out a couple of moans. He worked his way up and took her shirt off, now caressing her torso. Sakura pulled Sasuke's pants down, now feeling her manhood more clearly than she did before. Removing the last obstacle, she now caressed his member. This caused Sasuke to remove her underwear too, so much for all the time she and Ino spent choosing the right lingerie, when he didn't even look at it and disposed of it as soon as he could.

Sasuke let go of Sakura's mouth and made his way down. Then he kissed her neck. Then her breasts. Kisses turned into lustful licks. Sakura kissed his neck while she stroked his penis. Deciding that was enough foreplay, Sakura guided his manhood to go inside her walls. Sasuke got the message and started thrusting. Sakura let out a moan that made Sasuke go into pure instinct mode. He could simply see Sakura's beatiful naked body and a face expression that reflected pleasure. He kept going, but not as hard as he would like to. Sakura kept demanding (shouting) for him to go harder. Sasuke increased the intensity each time, until he eventually found that Sakura was more than capable of handling how hard he could go. He dropped the restraints and went as hard as he would like to. Sakura's screams of pleasure drove him crazy and he would obey her every command. Two strong shinobi going so hard would eventually take its toll, first warning with very loud noises of the bed clashing against the wall, such warnings were ignored and the bed eventually gave in, breaking and the mattress falling on the floor. Sakura screamed 'DON'T YOU DARE STOP' and so, Sasuke didn't. They kept going and going until Sakura's even louder scream indicated she had reached her climax. Sasuke would reach his not long after that. Sasuke collapsed next to Sakura, both breathing heavily.

"Holy... shit..." Sakura said between pants.

"Sorry about the mess..." Sasuke spoke up.

"I was about to change this shitty bed anyway" Sakura laughed "It's also a good thing my neighbor is on a mission, I wouldn't want to explain myself..." Sasuke smirked and his face went pale as something dawned on him.

"I forgot the fucking co-"

"Don't worry" Sakura smiled as she caught on that what troubled him "I'm a medical ninja, I have endless birth control methods" Sasuke let out a sigh of relief and nodded "unless.. you don't have an STD do you?"

"No" he shook his head "you?"

"Sasuke Uchiha!" Sakura grinned as she threw herself to him again "are you calling me a slut?"

"Of course not" Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura giggled as she kissed him passionately.

"That was amazing Sasuke..." she said.

"It was..." Sasuke smirked.

"However..." she said between kisses "I'm afraid that wasn't enough... can you handle a second round?" she said as she put herself on top of him. Sasuke smirked as he let Sakura take command and ride him for the second round.

 **The Next Morning**

Sasuke's eyes opened. He noticed he was sleeping at ground level. He took a look, and before his grumpy recently awoken self could wonder what the hell happened, his memories provided the answer. He smirked. What a night. He had sex 4 times with beautiful Sakura before falling asleep and slept like he never did before. He checked the clock. Past noon. He let out a sigh of relief as he remembered he didn't have to work on weekends. His mind wandered back to Sakura, the beauty of her naked body, the pleasure he experienced with her last night... and speaking of which. Where the hell was Sakura? He got up and dressed, picking his clothes up, which were neatly folded and waiting for him, unlike being scattered all over the room like they should have been. He noticed that Sakura had somewhat fixed the mess they made last night, except the bed, if she was careful not to wake him up or if he was just so deep asleep he didn't even notice, was something he didn't know. He opened the door expecting to see Sakura, but he saw breakfast on the table and a note.

 _Sorry for making you feel like a one night stand or something, but I had an emergency. However, I did find the time to make you a very well deserved breakfast ;)_

 _Love,_

 _Sakura_

Sasuke smiled as he sat down and ate the breakfast his girlfriend had made him.

 **Hours later. Dumpling restaurant.**

Sakura finally finished an urgent mission to treat an injured shinobi that she had to cover, since Shizune was occupied at the moment. It was not rare for Sakura to do this, so she wasn't surprised. For now, she would eat something, she hadn't eaten anything all day, save a toast she ate as fast as she could from Sasuke's breakfast. She woke up to see her boyfriend fast asleep, she decided to let him sleep, he looked so handsome while asleep... okay maybe that was a bit creepy, but oh well. She cleaned up the room, trying to not wake Sasuke up and decided to make breakfast for him. Then, she was called in for this emergency and had to bolt out of her apartment. A smile appeared on her face while eating her dumplings, allowing herself to finally remember last night again after her medical duty interruption...

"There you are!" her best friend's voice interrupted her trail of thought. She sighed. See you later, handsome shirtless Sasuke memories...

"What's wrong?" she turned around as she swallowed and saw Ino and Hinata walking up to her.

"I've been looking all over for you! How was it!? You need to tell me!" Ino said as she sat down in front of her.

"Ino pig! You got me worried there for a second! All this ruckus just to gossip?" she glared. She was shocked that Hinata was apparently in on this, so she stared at her.

"I tried to stop her" Hinata shook her head. Sakura let out a sigh of relief, now that was more Hinata like.

"Sure..." Ino rolled her eyes "more like she's sticking around because she's just as curious as any other female"

"Ino!" Hinata scolded. Ino laughed, making clear that she was just teasing Hinata.

"Anyway! Details billboard brow! Now!"

"I don't kiss and tell Ino pig!" Sakura grinned.

"Of course you don't, Sakura" Hinata nodded. "She won't tell you anything, just like I never told you anything with Naruto"

"Sakura is not a prude like you Hinata" Ino answered "unless of course... she isn't saying anything because she has nothing to say" Ino glared. Sakura shrugged "Sakura! After all the time we spent choosing the right _outfit_!"

"Well..." Sakura grinned "just like I told you, he didn't even bother to look, ripped them straight off" Ino's and Hinata's mouths widened.

"I knew it!" Ino clapped.

"Sakura!" Hinata blushed, she truly thought Sakura was less _vulgar_ than Ino. Sakura shrugged with a grin.

"So tell me! Did he live up to the expectations?"

"Let's just say... I'm having trouble walking today" Sakura smirked before laughing. Ino clapped again, Hinata's face was as red as a tomato.

"What's this commotion about?" they heard Naruto's voice interrupt "Hinata! You okay? Are they teasing you again!?" Naruto rushed to his wife.

"I'm okay dear... don't worry..." Hinata said as she tried to make her blush go away.

"Relax Naruto, it's just some girl talk" Ino sighed.

"Do I want to know?" Naruto asked Hinata, she shook her head "anyway I've been looking for you! Gaara and Bee are in town! Can we throw a little party in our house tonight?"

"Well, it's Saturday, I don't see why not" Hinata answered "no going too crazy okay? The house is new"

"I promise, my beautiful wife!" Naruto grinned as he gave Hinata a quick kiss "you girls can come too! Bring Sai and Sasuke along!" he said before running off.

"Well, I'll go get ready then" Sakura said as she finished her dumplings and stood up.

"Wait you still haven't!" Ino yelled before Sakura disappeared "can you believe her?" she asked Hinata, who was still blushing because of Naruto's unannounced kiss.

 **Sakura's apartment**

"Sasuke?" Sakura said as she entered her house and saw her boyfriend sleeping on the couch.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted as he woke up.

"Have you been sleeping all day!? It's 6 p.m. " she scolded.

"I was up for a while..." he said before yawning.

"And you went back to sleep?" she asked, believing his story since her breakfast had been eaten. Sasuke nodded "well I guess I understand... you have those crazy schedules working for Kakashi and I didn't let you sleep much last night..." she smirked as she sat down next to him

"Back for more?" he smirked as he pulled her in for an embrace.

"No Sasuke! Not now!" she laughed "Naruto is throwing a party tonight, we have to go"

"Why go to a lame party when we can do something even better..?" he said as he kissed her neck.

"Believe me... it's hard for me to refuse. But I have to make you socialize"

"Socialize?" he asked.

"Yes. You have to go, you owe Naruto" she said as she stood up so she wouldn't be tempted.

"I don't see the relation"

"Okay, how about this? If you go I'll make it up to you later" she winked.

"Do not start playing these games with me woman" Sasuke sighed. Sakura gasped.

"Have it your way! If you don't go, no sex!"

"God damn it..." Sasuke frustratingly sighed, realizing it was too late for him to _not_ play these games. Sakura grinned as she knew she won.

 **Uzumaki Clan House**

"Yo! This is a killer place you got Naruto!" Killer Bee said as everyone sat in the living room.

"It's really nice..." Gaara observed.

"Thanks! I'm indebted to the Hyugas!" Naruto smiled. The doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it" Hinata said as she stood up.

"Married, big house... and you're only in your 20s..." Gaara said.

"Well it's not too early to settle down I guess!" Naruto laughed "Alright! Sasuke! Sakura! You made it!" Naruto yelled as he saw his wife enter the living room with the recently arrived guests.

"I thought you said this was a party Naruto" Sakura said as she only saw 4 people in the house.

"Well... Temari and Shikamaru have their wedding chaos... Temari dragged Kankuro into that somehow, and Ino insisted on helping, knowing Shikamaru she said" Hinata explained.

"Sasuke Uchiha..." Gaara stood up and offered his hand.

"Gaara of the Sand" Sasuke shook it.

"I'm pleased to see you finally saw the light"

"I guess I did" Sasuke nodded "I never had the chance to apologize to you... for the Summit incident" Sasuke said in a serious voice.

"That's alright" Gaara answered.

"I no longer seek things that can only be found in the darkness... and you were right, there was always light" he said as he looked at Sakura, who was talking to Hinata.

"I understand you perfectly Sasuke... and I can see it as clearly as I saw it before, your eyes. They are completely different, I can't see the hatred in them anymore" Gaara smiled.

"More like just one eye! You're covering one of them! Why?" Killer Bee spoke up.

"Killer Bee" Sasuke observed. The two other jincuriki he fucked over in the past, destiny and its timing... "I must also apologize to you. I'm grateful you made me fail"

"Just bury it, you ate my lariat!" Killer Bee smiled. Sasuke sweatdropped, then again, if he did this silly rap on a life or death battle, he shouldn't expect anything else.

"Glad to see there are no hard feelings between you guys" Sakura smiled, she was so proud of Sasuke, who she heard apologize "so I guess we're taking it easy tonight huh?" she asked Hinata

"Yeah... it's a small get together. Just friends hanging out I guess" Hinata nodded.

"Oh I don't think so!" Naruto, who apparently left, yelled as he came back "my two jinchuriki brothers are here, and Sasuke's back in town! We're having some drinks people!" Naruto grinned as he was carrying bottles of alcohol.

"Naruto..." his wife scolded.

"Don't worry Hinata, if we get too crazy feel free to gentle fist our asses and put us out of commission!"

"I will Naruto, this is our new house" she warned. Naruto nonetheless grinned and started pouring drinks.

"Here!" Naruto offered the glasses. Sasuke took it without hesitation, he was a bit uncomfortable so alcohol would be a big help.

The 6 people in there told their war stories and started drinking. Sasuke was surprised that neither Gaara or Bee had in fact any resentment towards him. Asking him questions and fully understanding his point of view in the war. They even thanked him, as he did save them from the Infinite Tsukuyomi after all. He had good moments with Gaara, who he would like to consider another friend from now on and was very impressed with how Killer Bee talked about Itachi, they had a private conversation about him, since Killer Bee was aware that he knew the secret that Gaara and Hinata didn't know, Sasuke was very thankful towards him. Things got more and more light hearted, as the alcohol started kicking in and they started talking (and laughing) about pointless stuff. They eventually ended up playing a drinking game.

"Sasuke! Either show us your left eye or drink!" Naruto drunkenly cheered.

"No" Sasuke said as he reached to down another drink.

"Oh come on! Just show it! I want Hinata and the others to see your Rinnegan!" he insisted.

"Loser" Sasuke drunkenly scolded "I said-" he felt his hair being pulled away, nonetheless. He turned to see his girlfriend laughing, who did it. He glared.

"Yo fool, I don't know if that's creepy or cool!" Killer Bee laughed, and everyone with him.

"Well it's the most powerful eye in the world, so cool" Sasuke answered. Everyone laughed again, and he was clearly getting drunk, because he was laughing as well.

The men kept playing and getting even drunker. Sakura and Hinata decided they should not play and watch over them, finding their drunkenness extremely funny, but still ensuring they wouldn't get out of control.

"Hey! You fools better stop drinking before you get me and Gyuki drunk as well!" Naruto suddenly said, his eyes meaning this was Kurama speaking.

"Just go sleep it off already!" Gyuki added through Bee.

"You go sleep it off tailed beasts! We're having fun here! Don't make me use genjutsu on you!" Sasuke drunkenly stood up to them.

"Do your worst Uchiha brat!" Kurama dared. Sasuke went back to a serious expression that was more typical of his sober self, staring at Naruto. He then collapsed back on the couch and started laughing hysterically.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"I'm so drunk I can't even keep my eyes focused!" Sasuke shouted in laughter. Gaara, Sakura and Hinata laughed even harder than him. Naruto and Bee started laughing as well, indicating the tailed beasts were not joining the fun and went back to what they were doing.

Gaara and Bee eventually passed out and the women carried them to the guest rooms, they were going to spend the night there anyway. When they went back downstairs, they found Naruto and Sasuke, who were clearly not done partying yet, passionately arguing about something interesting.

"Sakura is hotter than Hinata!" Sasuke shouted.

"No dude! Hinata is way hotter!" Naruto countered.

"How?"

"She has better tits!" Naruto shouted back. Saying Hinata was embarrassed was an understatement.

"Ok! But Sakura will remain hot for the rest of her life like Tsunade!" Sasuke replied. Now it was Sakura's face turn to turn red.

"Shit! But here's the thing! Hinata could totally beat Sakura in a fight!"

"As if!" Sasuke snorted.

"Hinata has the Byakugan!"

"Sakura could heal herself from whatever damage Hinata did to her"

"Even chakra points?"

"She's a medical ninja, she knows where they are, she wouldn't let her touch them"

"She can't dodge the gentle fist! She doesn't have the Sharingan like you do!"

"She can keep her at bay creating fucking earthquakes with her own fists!"

"Hinata's stronger!" Naruto lost whatever temper he had left.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted back.

"Oh! Sakura! Hinata! Fight and prove this bastard wrong!" Naruto said as he spotted them.

"Suit yourself Hinata, but know you'll become a loser like your husband"

"Hold on! I have an idea Sasuke! Let them fight with swimsuits in a mud pool!"

"That's a great idea!" Sasuke laughed as he gave Naruto a high five.

"That's enough you two!" Sakura shouted, this wasn't funny anymore.

"We are not going to fight Naruto! And much less in such a demeaning way!" Hinata scolded.

"Oh come Hinata!" Naruto complained as Hinata simply pushed him upstairs "I still love you though!"

"I'm sorry we have no guest rooms left Sakura" Hinata said.

"That's alright" Sakura nodded as she saw the marriage disappear upstairs "let's go, you drunk idiot" she told Sasuke

"I'm not drunk" he protested as he sat down in the couch.

"Right..." she said as she tried to lift him up.

" _You_ 're drunk, you drank just as much as me"

"I can handle my alcohol, unlike you" she tried to provoke him so he would stand back up.

"You're cheating with your medical ninjutsu stuff" he answered. Sakura sighed. Well, that didn't work, it would most definitely have if he was sober.

"Sasuke we have to leave" she insisted. Sasuke pulled her down to where he was. Sakura sighed.

"You are beautiful and I don't deserve you you know that?" Sasuke randomly said. It caused Sakura to blush. She shook her head and stood back up, she was seriously starting to hate drunk Sasuke. Even more so, since he chose now of all moments, to pass out.

"God damn it Sasuke..." she sighed as she was forced to carry him. Well, her monster strength made it easy for her and at least now he wasn't resisting. She couldn't be mad at him. Drunk Sasuke was funny as hell and he did just say he could win against a Hyuga pureblood. She smiled. She would carry him back to her place. He was going to spend 2 nights at her house in a row. Sakura made sure to remind herself to not get used to this... for now.

 _To be continued..._


	18. Sakura Uchiha

**Ichiraku's**

"Slow down there Shikamaru, you're reminding me too much of Naruto" Temari scolded her husband as he was eating ramen.

"Give me a break, I've been working non-stop to get the Kage summit ready, I was starving" Shikamaru defended himself.

"You sure didn't look busy to me when we had a beer last night" Sai spoke up.

"A person needs a break every now and then to work properly" Shikamaru glared.

"And some need more breaks than others right?" Ino teased.

"This lazy ass would do nothing else than taking breaks if it wasn't for me" Temari smiled.

"Fine, keep teasing me, I'll ignore you while I satisfy my hunger" Shikamaru sighed as he resumed eating.

"Can you listen to at least one of my jokes before you start ignoring everything?" the 4 people in the table heard a new voice.

"Choji!?" Ino yelled before giving his teammate a hug "you're finally back!"

"Yeah, just arrived today" he explained as he greeted everyone "you guys remember Karui right?" he introduced the woman who was with him.

"I don't believe we have met" Karui said as she saw Temari.

"I'm Temari, Shikamaru's wife. I'm from the Hidden Sand, that's why you probably didn't know me"

"I see" Karui nodded.

"I can't exactly pinpoint where I know you from" Shikamaru said as he studied her. Karui gave him a dirty look, she knew she made quite an impression last time she was in the Leaf and she couldn't believe someone forgot what she did.

"She was the one that beat Naruto to a bloody pulp after Pain's attack" Sai explained for her.

"Right..." Shikamaru nodded as he remembered.

"Let's not talk about awkward things huh?" Ino smiled as she glared at Sai "water under the bridge" she waved off "so, showing a cloud nin around Choji? Does this mean you're here just to visit?"

"Actually..." Choji blushed "I've returned to stay. And Karui... she's my fiancee" he explained. Everyone except Sai almost spit their food out.

"Seriously!?" Ino yelled.

"Yeah" Choji laughed "After 5 years living in the cloud, I made quite a lot of friends there, and even found the love of my life" he explained. Karui blushed as he said that.

"So you're moving here with Choji?" Ino asked Karui.

"Yes" she nodded "I'm aware that Choji had to come back eventually to fulfill his duties as an Akimichi clan member... and I want to be his wife, so, here we are" she explained.

"That's so romantic!" Ino squealed.

"I moved here because of my husband too, we should be friends" Temari told Karui.

"I could use a guide" Karui answered as they smiled at each other.

"Anyway, congratulations you two" Shikamaru spoke up after he finally finished eating so much "look at us, the Ino-Shika-Cho are back after years, and we're all married, or soon to be, and stuff" he laughed.

"We're at the wrong place though" Ino pointed out.

"Yeah! What the hell happened to the barbecue place!? That was the first place I went to but it was closed!?" Choji said as he remembered, with a horrified expression.

"Relax Choji" Ino laughed "it's just closed for a couple of months, they're reforming the place, adapting to the growth of the Leaf" she explained.

"Thank god..." Choji let out a sigh of relief.

"You're acting like a child over a simple restaurant" Karui scolded him.

"I already told you babe, it's the best place in the Leaf!"

"Every food is the best for you, and what did I tell you about calling me _babe_!" she said as she pulled his ear.

"I'm sorry!" Choji yelled. Everyone laughed.

"Your girlfriend has quite the temper" Sai said.

"Like yours" Choji countered.

"Yup! I can already tell she's a good fit in our group!" Ino smiled.

"Anyway, I only came back for the weddings and didn't know much about what you guys were up to, what did I miss these 5 years? How is everyone?" Choji asked.

"Same as always... well, Naruto became a team leader, the genin teams he had didn't quite work out with genin dropping out since these are peace times, but now that he's Mirai's team sensei, different story" Shikamaru told him.

"Really? Naruto is training Asuma sensei's daughter?" Choji let out in shock "and how is that going?" he asked as he could only imagine what kind of team leader Naruto would be.

"Surprisingly good, actually, Mirai is already absurdly gifted making genin at her young age and Naruto is actually helping her a lot with her wind style affinity" Shikamaru explained.

"Well I'll be damned..." Choji whistled "and how's Sakura? She was part of our team for a short time after all"

"You can ask her yourself" Ino said as she saw her best friend enter the restaurant. Saying that she looked pissed was an understatement. "Naruto's not here Sakura" she said as she guessed why she was there with an angry expression.

"I'm actually looking for my boyfriend" Sakura answered.

"Well you won't be able to see him, Sasuke is with Kakashi at the summit" Shikamaru told her.

"Great" Sakura sighed, knowing it would a while before she could talk to him.

"Sasuke's your boyfriend!?" Choji asked her.

"Choji!" Sakura said as her mood did a 180 and hugged him "when did you get back?" she smiled.

"Just a couple of hours ago..." he explained "anyway, when did... Sasuke and you... you know, happen?"

"Sasuke came back to the village not long after you left for Cloud... we've been dating ever since. We've been _official_ for about 5 years now, I'm surprised you didn't know yet" Sakura explained, with a smile, that disappeared after she locked eyes with Karui. Both stared at each other intensely "Hello" Sakura greeted.

"Hi" Karui greeted back.

"Um... Karui" Choji awkwardly said as he stood up. He just realized that Sakura might hold a grudge against his girlfriend since she beat Naruto up like she did, and on Karui's part, she had a grudge on Sasuke herself, and finding out Sakura was his girlfriend only made things even weirder. He had to do something "we should get going, my parents are waiting for us" he said as Karui nodded and followed him. Choji apologized as they left.

"Shit... that was uncomfortable" Temari said after a minute of silence.

"What was she doing here?" Sakura asked.

"She's Choji's girlfriend... fiancee, actually" Ino explained.

"Really?" Sakura asked. The rest of them nodded.

"You two should talk it out, I'm sure we can all be friends, ugly" Sai told her, earning himself a kick from Ino.

"You're lucky you're my best friend's husband, I would beat the hell out of you otherwise" Sakura threatened.

"I'm sorry, Sakura" Ino apologized on her husband's behalf, she hated things being so tense.

"It's okay Ino, I was joking" Sakura smiled.

"Don't worry Ino, I've become quite good at easing ugly's emotions" Sai smiled. Ino saw Sakura nod, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't push it with your stupid nickname though" Sakura told Sai.

"Do you have to make those jokes after such a tense situation though?" Ino asked.

"I'm sorry if I made it look tense... I get where Karui's coming from, I do. It's just that... I wouldn't know what to say to her to make her understand Sasuke's side..." Sakura explained.

"I doubt she even wants to understand the Akatsuki's motives... cloud nin have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to such actions" Shikamaru explained.

"Sasuke had strong reasons to do what he did" Sakura answered, knowing first hand what was going on Sasuke's mind back then.

"You don't have to convince _me_ about that" Shikamaru raised his hands, knowing how ridiculously defensive Sakura could get when it came to Sasuke.

"Anyway, I thought you were angry at the Uchiha just a minute ago" Temari spoke up.

"Right! That bastard!" she got back in the mood she arrived with. Temari winked at Ino letting her know that things were back to normal, and Ino nodded with a smile.

"What did he do?" Sai asked.

"Seeing that it will be a while, might as well just hang out with you guys and tell you" Sakura sighed as she sat down with them "my _boyfriend_ had the nerve of using his fucking Sharingan on me to get out of washing the dishes"

"He what?" Ino asked, repressing a laugh.

"He used genjutsu on me! I thought he was doing what he promised, but next thing I know, I'm on a genjutsu washing them myself!"

"Shit... that's genius" Shikamaru thought aloud. He was punched in the stomach by his wife "Do you want me to vomit everything I ate woman!" he said between coughs.

"Believe me Sakura, I understand you. My beloved husband attempts such tricks himself" Temari said.

"At least Shikamaru's honest, he's lazy and he admits it. But Sasuke? Sasuke puts his arrogant act. Like doing chores is beneath him, we get into the biggest fights for doing what a normal couple is supposed to do, although maybe that's him just being hyper masculine, his stupid pride and shit... god, men!" Sakura ranted.

"Men indeed" Temari sighed.

"Well... Sai doesn't do such things, he's perfect" Ino smiled.

"I'm happy to help my wife, we all know I'm the best man, sorry, unlike Ino you made the wrong choice, ladies" Sai continued.

"You Sai? Don't make me laugh" Temari snorted.

"Sai's, you're not a _man_ , let alone... normal person" Sakura stuck her tongue out. The women started defending their partners, while Shikamaru stared not quite sure how they got there and Sai listened with amusement.

 **Hokage's Office**

"That was fun wasn't it?" Kakashi sighed as he collapsed on his chair.

"Very" Sasuke answered as he sat down as well.

"Well... The Leaf will handle what's going on in Sound, happy?" Kakashi asked.

"Not yet..." Sasuke started, Kakashi raised an eyebrow "I'll do it"

"I can't let you do that. Yes, you're best suited for it considering your... _experience_ , but I don't want you to leave the village again" Kakashi told him, Sasuke made a grunt in disapproval "look, I get that you're being held back sticking to being a regular police officer with your unique talents, but there are other paths you can take here, in the village"

"Such as..."

"I think you know what I'm talking about"

"The answer is no, and it will always be no"

"Sasuke..." Kakashi sighed "ANBU is no longer what it was since _he_ is out of the picture. I insist, I understand your feelings about the whole thing, but Black Ops is where you would be best suited for"

"That's not where I belong" Sasuke answered.

"And where do you belong?" Kakashi asked "Where do you see yourself in the future?"

"I do see myself somewhere in the distant future" Sasuke answered, Kakashi stared "I am an Uchiha, and as an Uchiha, and the son of Fugaku Uchiha, I'll be the Captain of the Police Force someday... that was my dream when I was a kid"

"I somehow knew you'd say that" Kakashi nodded "but what will you do until you're ready for that? Stay on your current position wasting your talents?"

"I will be where I'm needed to be. And right now, I'm needed in Sound" Sasuke insisted.

"What about Sakura?"

"I'll handle Sakura"

"Are you? Are you _handling_ Sakura?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look" Kakashi sighed again "I'm the closest thing both of you have that resembles a father, I worry about you, and Sakura. Where is that going? You're the only ones who are not married yet. Any reason why you're still living _in sin_?"

"That's none of your business"

"I just told you, it is. Will you ever get married?"

"I do want to marry Sakura. We're just taking things at our own pace okay?" Sasuke confessed "is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes" Kakashi grinned under his mask "I remember when we met, when you told me about your goals... excluding _that one_ , you mentioned your dream was restoring your clan... are you going after that dream? Is Sakura part of it?"

"I'm _not_ talking about this" Sasuke said with a very irritated expression. Kakashi smiled, getting the answer to his question in Sasuke's unique way.

"I'm just bringing this up because leaving, _again,_ is an obstacle to those goals"

"It's not" Sasuke answered "so, what you mean is that I need Sakura's blessing to leave right?"

"I didn't say that in particular..."

"Okay, I'll talk to Sakura, you'll be surprised at what she'll say" Sasuke said as he got up and left. Kakashi sighed, that was not what he meant, but it was a step in the right direction.

Before Sasuke left the Hokage building, thinking what to say to Sakura and hoping she didn't break through his genjutsu like she did last time, he saw young Mirai Sarutobi at the lobby. Sasuke got along with the young girl, since he gave her occasional genjutsu pointers at Naruto's and Kurenai's requests. She was only 10 years old and she was already a genin, she was extremely talented at genjutsu, and had red eyes that resembled a Sharingan. She reminded him of his older brother, and it was probably the reason he agreed to help her out.

"Hi Mr. Sasuke! Long time no see!" she smiled.

"Hey" he greeted back "how are things going? Making any progress in spite of the loser's training?" Mirai laughed.

"I don't know why you're so mean to Naruto sensei Mr. Sasuke, he's a great teacher"

"I still don't believe that"

"How about I show you next time you train me? I think I'm ready to counter a Sharingan genjutsu now! Please?" the girl asked.

"I don't think your mom would approve of that" he answered. Mirai pouted. "I bet the loser made you think such a thing, and I thought we've been over this, don't listen to him when it comes to genjutsu"

"I take offense to that ya'know" Naruto said as he appeared and put his hand on Mirai's shoulder "I'm telling you Sasuke, I bet Mirai would surprise you"

"Thank you Naruto sensei!" Mirai smiled.

"Anyway, I dismissed you a while ago Mirai, go home, I bet Kurenai's worried!"

"Okay..." Mirai sighed as she turned to leave "Sharingan or not, we have to train again Mr. Sasuke!"

"Sure" Sasuke nodded.

"Great kid" Naruto grinned "so how was the summit?" Naruto said as they left, they didn't have to actually say it, if both were leaving at this hour they were going to have dinner at Ichiraku's.

"The Leaf will handle it"

"Which means you really are leaving..." Naruto put on a serious face.

"Kakashi didn't actually give me permission" Sasuke answered.

"Yet" Naruto replied. Both were stopped as suddenly a smiling Sakura appeared in front of them. Naruto gulped. Sakura was like his sister. He knew this smile. He was in serious trouble.

"Hi honey!" she said. Naruto sighed in relief. He wasn't the one in trouble, Sasuke was.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me..." Sasuke said before being slapped. A slap that literally floored him and shocked everyone in the street but Naruto. Sakura was actually gentle with Sasuke. That slap was nothing compared with the punches she would give him that would send him flying.

"Sharingan genjutsu Sasuke? Again?" Sakura scolded.

"You did that shit again Sasuke?" Naruto laughed "I would think you would get the message and stop that after trying 4 times"

"I just might have to try using the Mangekyo..." Sasuke said as he stood up covering his face with his hand "that was one of my strongest genjutsu, I can't believe she actually broke through it... damn it hurts" Sasuke said as Naruto laughed even more.

"Naruto, just leave if you don't want me to hit you too" Sakura glared.

"Sure thing Sakura" Naruto nervously laughed as he practically disappeared.

"Watch what you say next or I'll slap you again, _honey_ " Sakura threatened.

"Sakura, listen, I _had_ to" Sasuke started.

"Yeah you had to, because Sasuke Uchiha is too damn cool to clean after himself"

"Sakura..."

"You fucking asshole!"

"Today's summit was about Sound Sakura" Sasuke raised his voice.

"Sound?..."

"If I didn't talk to Kakashi before I wouldn't have been able to do anything"

"And why couldn't you just tell me that instead of doing that shit!?"

"Because considering my... _history_ , you wouldn't have believed me"

"You're damn right I wouldn't"

"I'm sorry, I was just in a big hurry"

"It's your fault! If you weren't such an _idiot_!... Just tell me these things and don't do this crap! Why do you have to be like this?"

"I don't know... but I am sorry..."

"You're lucky I love you... but I swear! If you do it again!..."

"Trust me I won't. That was my strongest visual genjutsu, and that seriously hurt... I know when to give up" he said as he covered the part of his face that was red.

"Just come here" Sakura said as she healed Sasuke's face "what about using your Mangekyo like you said just a moment ago?"

"I wouldn't use the Mangekyo on the woman I love" Sasuke said as his face started feeling better.

"Good to know that you have limits. And that the regular sharingan, which is still pretty brutal, is somehow fair game" Sakura sighed as she finished. Sasuke smirked "You did use it on me just a year ago though..."

"That was different..." Sasuke said as he remembered putting her on that genjutsu to show her the history of his clan, his parents, his brother... and all the secrets she needed to know about the Uchiha clan. He could still remember vividly feeling all the emotions she felt as he made visual contact with her, feeling terribly for what he had done to her. Staying up all night, partly because he had to take care of her since she was defenseless, partly because Sakura maybe wasn't able to handle such dark things. To his surprise... she did, and better than he could have imagined. He still remembered when she woke up, when she simple gave him one of her hugs... her words... Y _ou're not a bad man Sasuke, and you never were. You are a man who cares about justice, and the wrong people guided you down the wrong path. But now you have the right people, and you're going down the right path. The path your parents and brother wanted for you... the path that I want for you. Your loved ones will always be there for you. Your family is with you right now... and I'm not going anywhere. You're not alone Sasuke, and you never have to be._

"So... I take it it's time then..." Sakura looked down, snapping Sasuke out of his trip down memory lane.

"Yeah... Those people need help, _my_ help" Sasuke nodded.

"I know..." Sakura said as she looked up and into Sasuke's eyes "and this time... I'm going with you. Even if you don't want me to. You're not getting rid of me so easily like last time"

"Actually..." Sasuke smirked "I was going to ask you to come with me"

"Really?" Sakura gasped.

"Yeah... I thought that you couldn't come because your life is here... it felt terrible to ask you to leave all that behind just for me..."

"You idiot" Sakura said as she embraced him "ever since you came back... I knew you would leave again... and I've been getting ready to leave with you when the time came"

 **Hokage's Office. A couple of days later**

"Sakura..." Kakashi said as his appointed visit arrived "to what do I owe the pleasure"

"Save the small talk Kakashi sensei... you know why I came"

"I'm doing my best to stop him Sakura" Kakashi started.

"I don't want you to stop him..." Sakura interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Lord 6th" Sakura bowed "I request your permission to join Sasuke in his mission"

"Are you serious Sakura?" Kakashi asked as his jaw dropped.

"Yes" she nodded.

"Sakura, we are talking of a mission that could last years. It's not just the Sound, but the Rain and many more other smaller nations if it comes to that"

"I'm perfectly aware of this"

"But why? Why do you want to leave? This is your home. Your life is here. Your medical ninja career is beginning to take off"

"I don't have much more to do here Kakashi sensei, for now at least. The children mental hospital is in good hands now, my medical ninja role can be done just as well by others, and Shizune is doing a far better job than I ever could as the Head right now"

"Just like your other half huh... overqualified for to be an underling, yet underqualified to be the boss"

"Yeah" Sakura nodded "my place right now is with Sasuke, he's needed in the smaller villages and I have to be with him"

"You're acting like you're his wife, yet you two aren't married yet"

"I am his wife in a certain way" Sakura answered, Kakashi raised his eyebrow "he's entrusted me with the secrets of the Uchiha clan Kakashi sensei... things that not even you or Naruto know. You know Sasuke... the fact that he has shared such things with me... that means a lot more than us being united by law"

"You have a point there..." Kakashi pondered "so you know... everything?"

"Everything..." Sakura confirmed "I have to tell you Kakashi sensei... I do have... doubts" she started "I don't know, I'm conflicted about the Leaf, what happened to the Uchiha clan, what happened to Sasuke... it makes me angry. The fact that those two elders are still in charge here after what they did... the fact that you or Naruto never told me..."

"It was not our place to do so... it was Sasuke's..." Kakashi defended himself. He had never seen Sakura like this.

"I understand. You never told me because you feared I would take Sasuke's... _side_ because of my feelings for him, and such fears are only confirmed now..."

"Sakura, I-"

"But I'm still a proud Leaf shinobi. This is still my home. I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I need to leave for a while... see things differently from the outside, it looks like it worked for Sasuke, so it will for me as well" Sakura interrupted Kakashi and finished.

"I see..." Kakashi nodded. He was surprised. Sakura never ceased to amaze him, the natural, mature and healthy way she had to deal with a hatred he never saw in her "as your sensei and your friend... I understand. But. As Hokage, I shouldn't let one of our top medical ninja leave the village for so long" he said. Sakura looked down, expecting the worst "still... my personal feelings have gotten in the way for your other two teammates, it doesn't feel fair to be any different to you does it?" Sakura's face lit up "I can tell you need to go with Sasuke, and a shinobi of your talents can only be a big help in said mission... it is against the rules to form a two man team of people who are romantically involved, but we're already side stepping so might as well just go all the way right?" Kakashi smiled.

"Kakashi sensei..." Sakura smiled.

"You have my permission to go with him. As 6th Hokage, I give you and Sasuke this mission"

"Thank you so much!" Sakura couldn't help it and hugged her sensei.

"Let's at least try to _appear_ professional Sakura..." Kakashi sighed.

"Right, I'm so sorry" Sakura laughed.

"I expect you two to leave in a couple of days. I guess you have to say your good byes to some friends"

 **Hidden Leaf Gate. Days Later**

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you billboard brow!" Ino sobbed as she hugged Sakura.

"I'm going to miss you so much too Ino pig!" Sakura cried as well. Naruto and Sasuke, who were there seeing it, sweatdropped.

"Promise me you will take good care of her Sasuke!" Ino demanded.

"I'm not playing along with this idiocy, Yamanaka" Sasuke sighed.

"Just promise me you idiot!" Ino got in his face with a very angry tone.

"Fine, I promise" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'll take it..." Ino said as she gave Sakura one last hug.

"Hinata..." Sakura turned to the other woman there and hugged her as well "you'll have to substitute for me and smack Naruto every now and then, he needs it"

"Believe me, I already do" Hinata smiled as she hugged her back. Naruto rolled his eyes, now being the star of a far too cheesy situation for even his standards "Sasuke..." she turned her attention to the other person she came to say her good byes to "we have become quite close these past years... and I will miss you" Hinata shyly confessed with a blush.

"I know the loser's in good hands with you" Sasuke nodded "be sure to insult him on my behalf a couple of times" he smirked. Hinata smiled in return.

"Naruto... I consider you my brother..." Sakura confessed and she gave him a hug as well.

"Same here Sakura" Naruto grinned.

"And my punching bag" Sakura smirked.

"Great Sakura, you ruined it" Naruto pouted.

"Sorry" she laughed "I will miss this too... the silly bickering" Sakura got emotional again.

"No need to be sad Sakura" Naruto laughed "we will keep in touch! Plus, I'll be Hokage when you get back, so we would already be drifting apart anyway!"

"I think you still have a lot more years to go to be responsible enough to be Hokage" Sakura teased.

"I'll prove you wrong, like I always have!" Naruto stuck his tongue out. They both laughed "Sasuke" Naruto nodded as he offered his fist "I have to say the same thing as Ino, take care of her for me okay?"

"Of course I will" Sasuke smirked as they bumped fists.

"Goodbye everyone! I'll be back soon!" Sakura yelled as she and Sasuke embarked on their years long mission.

The next days, life wasn't so different for Sasuke and Sakura. They had already been living together for years, so they functioned just as easily when traveling. Their first stops were in the Land Of Fire, trying to gather some intel about the incidents happening near Sound, where people were attacked by what could only be shinobi, as well as ensuring that people were safe in their respective villages. Sakura was a natural to offer a helping hand, being even better than Sasuke at interacting with others, obviously. Sakura was the perfect companion for Sasuke, what he lacked the last time, making them the perfect team for the job. The Land of Fire appeared to be completely safe, so next they would have to go to the other neighbour, the Land of Iron. And to get to the Land of Iron, they had to go through a bridge that only provided them both with bad memories. Sasuke felt Sakura's mood completely change as they went through the bridge, even if it was completely remodeled after the mess he left after his fight with Danzo. Sakura could still remember everything perfectly. She was now standing in the very same spot where she took out her kunai before a helpless Karin... right before _that_ happened. She looked down at the river. That was where _that_ happened, _again_...

"Sakura" Sasuke said, forcing her to turn around. Her heart stopped as she saw Sasuke on his knees. She then looked at the ring he had on his hand. A ring with the Uchiha clan crest on it, made of rubies and diamonds. Sakura knew this was the ring Mikoto had... the ring of the wife of the Uchiha clan leader.

"Yes!" Sakura yelled.

"Let me ask you the actual question first..." Sasuke sighed.

"Sorry" Sakura laughed. Of course, Sasuke's pride was too big, he had to say it first.

"Sakura Haruno... will you marry me?" he asked.

"Of course I will, Sasuke Uchiha" she said as she let Sasuke put the ring on her finger. Sasuke stood up and they sealed the deal with a kiss "Why now?" she asked "we could have gotten married before leaving"

"I don't know... I've actually had this ring on me for the longest time... waiting for the right moment I guess..." Sasuke explained "seeing you sad here, all the bad memories, it felt right to replace them with a happy one"

"Sasuke" Sakura said as she hugged her now officially soon to be husband "you can be so romantic when you want to, you never fail to surprise me" Sasuke just shrugged "I thought you wouldn't believe in the _formalities_ of marriage, knowing you. I've actually considered myself your wife ever since you showed me everything about the Uchiha"

"You're not wrong. It didn't mean much to me... and yes, entrusting you with those secrets means a lot more than a piece of paper, that meant that you are my life... _partner_. But I guess I had a change of heart"

"Well... we're officially engaged" Sakura smiled.

"I guess we are"

"So we'll stay engaged until we finish our mission and get married when we get back... or..."

"Or?"

"Sasuke, let's just get married when we have the chance. I've been Ino's and Hinata's maid of honor, and believe me, we don't want to go through all that for a wedding..."

"Really? I thought you would want the whole spectacle thing"

"I thought I did too... but I guess I had a change of heart" Sakura grinned.

"So you're serious. Just the two of us. You don't want your friends around" Sasuke smirked.

"Why not? Our families are with us in spirit, they'll see it wherever we do it. And weddings have always been more for families than friends. Plus, getting married by ourselves away from home, like a lovers escapade, is pretty romantic too"

"If you're happy with it, I'm happy with it too" Sasuke nodded.

"It's decided! We're getting married as soon as we find a place that can do it!" Sakura exclaimed "Actually... hold on..." she pondered "I know of a place in Sound that will do"

"Which one? And how do you know?"

"I do have someone I consider family... and we need a witness... and she just happens to be there these days... the stars have aligned for us Sasuke!" Sakura cheered. Sasuke actually got a bit scared seeing Sakura's grin, maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

 **Hidden Sound**

Sakura's place was none other than a famous casino in Sound. A place where everyone went to spend days of debauchery and come back broke. Sasuke was familiar with the place... a place that Suigetsu _loved_ and wouldn't shut up about back in the day. Sasuke never saw the fun of this place... but it was better than where Orochimaru took him years before, at least people were not enslaving others for their own amusement... even if it looked like they were enslaved by machines that kept making noises that were driving him insane. As soon as Sasuke knew this was the place, he instantly knew who was Sakura's special person... and there she was, playing Black Jack.

"Double down!" a blonde woman shouted.

"With a 16? Bad idea, beautiful" a man next to her asked her.

"Shut up!" the woman pushed him a bit too hard and the man was almost sent flying. He simply got up and ran away. Everyone acted as if nothing happened, as this was considered a normal thing.

"22! Bust!" the dealer announced.

"Damn it!" she complained.

"As lucky as ever huh my lady?" someone told her.

"Sakura!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Tsunade Senju yelled "hold on! I need to get sober!" she put her hand on her stomach and a green glow appeared and the redness on her face disappeared gradually "there... all better now" she smiled "seriously Sakura, you're the last person I would expect to see here!" she was socked to see Sasuke behind her "so what is this? A couple coming here to have some fun?" she grinned as she took another sip of her sake.

"No Lady Tsunade, we are not fans of gambling. We're here to get married" Sakura smiled. Tsunade spat her sake out "and we need a witness"

"Are you serious!? _You_ 're not drunk are you?" she said as stared at them, and no, they looked completely sober.

"We're pretty much already married, all we need is the legal document, so might as well just get it over with" Sakura shrugged.

"Sakura this is crazy, I wouldn't expect this from you of all people" Tsunade scolded.

"I'm dead serious... I only need one person in the ceremony, and that's you Lady Tsunade... you're like my mother, the only family I have... plus, this is like your home isn't it? It makes sense to me"

"Sakura..." Tsunade stared, she was really touched by what Sakura said "I'm not crazy about the idea, but I'll do it for you" she said as she hugged her student, making her laugh "god maybe you really are like my daughter, just as crazy and stupid as I am..."

After Tsunade agreed, they headed to the wedding chapel, where they were attended quickly, they signed some papers and would get married in a matter of minutes. Sasuke and Sakura were not nervous at all, this wasn't a heat of the moment decision, they had days to think about it and they were going through with it. Just as they were told to go to the altar, Tsunade stopped them for a second.

"Go ahead Sakura, I need a word with your soon to be husband"

"You're not talking him out of it, he's as sure of this as I am" Sakura sighed.

"Just go... this is a _mom_ talk" she winked. Sakura giggled getting her message and headed inside, not worried at all "Forget about the fact that you're the last Uchiha and I'm the last Senju, this is about Sakura" she said as they were left alone.

"I believe we've already talked about this, when you came visit a couple of years ago" Sasuke answered.

"I know that you love her... but, I need to know, what are your plans for the future?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sakura wants a family... you know, kids. And I remember a conversation we had when you were in prison... you mentioned that the Uchiha bloodline would die with you, and I get it, that's exactly how I feel. But Sakura isn't lying when she says I'm like her mother, I do see her as my daughter, and I would do anything for her, including the fact that I can't let you marry Sakura if you can't give her a family"

"I did think that back then" Sasuke nodded "but I feel differently now. Sakura has made me see things very differently... I don't see having kids as having more Uchihas brought into this world, I see it as having a kid with the woman I love. And even if I think about the future of the clan, I know that it's in good hands with Sakura there. Look at her back" Sasuke pointed, Tsunade's mouth widened as she saw that Sakura had an Uchiha clan crest on the back of her top "Sakura wasn't lying either when she said we were pretty much already married. I've entrusted her with the secrets of our clan, she _is_ an Uchiha. She has as much of a say as I do when it comes to Uchiha descendants"

"When did she start wearing it?"

"Right after we got engaged... but I've been saving it for her for a long time, I knew this day would come eventually, ever since we started dating"

"I see..." Tsunade nodded "you know, I'm happy you stopped being an idiot and opened your eyes" she smirked at him "Sakura truly loves you, she always has, and it's good to see that it's paying off"

"She took the right gamble, unlike her master" Sasuke smirked. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched and it took everything she had to restrain herself from punching him.

"Today is about Sakura. But I _will_ have you pay back for that cheap insult, Uchiha. Let's get you both married before you say something else that I won't be able to let slide" she growled as she pushed him and made him walk down the aisle.

The ceremony took even less time than Tsunade's talk. It was all a bunch of legal questions that they answered with a simple yes, Tsunade had to sign as witness and just like that, they were married. Sakura Haruno was now officially Sakura Uchiha, and she could flash the Uchiha's crest she had on her finger and back with every right. After a night of doing a bit of drinking, gambling with Tsunade, and a long night were neither of them slept at their hotel room, they had to get back to work. They took a detour for their wedding, so they had to come back to the Land of Iron and resume their original plan.

 **Land of Iron border**

"Hold on" Sasuke stopped as they jumped from tree to tree.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Look" Sasuke pointed at a tree's root that was not very far.

"Blood..." Sakura pointed out as they examined the scene "I have a trail" she announced.

"I have another one" Sasuke answered as he followed more blood in another direction.

"Shit..." Sakura muttered as she was greeted by a bad smell under some plants, she removed them to find what she was expecting, a dead body. She checked it "A dead civilian, a farmer... murdered brutally..." she said as she examined the mauled body.

"Not too different here..." Sasuke yelled back "this man has too many broken bones to count... what kind of animal kills someone like this?"

"It's vicious... like he or she simply enjoys the violence..." Sakura said as she saw the blow that killed that man, it literally went through most of his torso, making a very big hole that was nasty to see, leaving his insides visible "Sasuke" she spoke up, her husband was there in a second "I can still feel it... this didn't happen long ago"

"Feel what?"

"I've only felt this kind of chakra when I've healed you from your _friendly_ spars with Naruto that went a bit too far. This was made by nature energy"

"You mean he was killed by someone using sage jutsu?" he asked. Sakura nodded.

"This is so brutal... we can't rule out an animal doing this to eat. Wouldn't be surprised if this was a sanke from Ryuchi cave"

"Hn..." Sasuke grunted as he thought, Sakura looked up to see the expression Sasuke made when something clicked in his mind "looks like we're turning back and going back to Sound"

"What for?"

"We're going to visit Orochimaru"

 _To be continued..._

 _Sasuke and Sakura getting married Vegas style made all kinds of sense to me for some reason, so I went ahead and did it haha_

 _Next update should be here soon and we're wrapping up this part of the story, getting back to the present in 2 chapters max. Stay tuned for more!_


	19. The Hawk's Second Flight

_Another update sooner than expected. Yay for me. We are covering a little adventure that will involve team Taka, a much needed story that explores Sakura's relationship with Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo. Enjoy!_

 **Somewhere near Hidden Sound Village**

 _Summoning Jutsu!_

A cloud of smoke dissipated to reveal a cobra. Sakura shook her head, snakes made her a bit uncomfortable, perhaps a phobia she picked up after that experience at the chunin exams.

"I don't know why you keep summoning me instead of Aoda, he's the only one that likes you" the cobra said.

"Aoda is too big" Sasuke answered "anyway, I need you to confirm in which hideout Orochimaru's at now"

"As if" the cobra snorted "I'm not ratting Lord Orochimaru out to you, of all people"

"Do it" Sasuke commanded "or I'll put you under a genjutsu and make you do it anyway"

"Fine" the cobra hissed as it went underground.

"Not that I'm a fan of snakes" Sakura said after a while "but you were a bit too harsh on it don't you think?"

"The snakes from Ryuchi Cave are very different from the toads of Mount Myoboku and the slugs from Shikkotsu Forest, they have quite the attitude, you have to be very firm with them, even Orochimaru has to be _harsh_ on them" Sasuke explained.

"I see..." Sakura nodded as she remembered Sasuke's interactions with Manda "do we _have_ to go see Orochimaru though?"

"He can save us quite a bit of time"

"I know, but..."

"You really don't like him don't you?" Sasuke smirked.

"He's the one that set you on that _path_ with that damn curse mark, of course I fucking hate him" Sakura huffed "you should have _kept_ him dead"

"He has his uses. He's actually helping the Leaf now, in his own way, and he's being kept in check"

"If you say so"

"You're more than free to wait in Sound while I talk to him" Sasuke offered.

"It's not that I can't go, but I have the right to complain about that son of a bitch" Sakura answered.

"Fair enough" Sasuke smirked.

"He's at the one in the south east" the cobra reemerged from the ground. Sasuke just grunted in response, and after that, the snake vanished.

Sakura followed Sasuke as they went to Ororchimaru's hideout. Sakura had to trust Sasuke, as far as she could tell, they were going _nowhere_. They were in the middle of a desert and there was nothing that resembled a hideout, or anything for that matter, in sight. She let out a small gasp as all of a sudden, they were in a forest. _A genjutsu barrier_. She thought. Orochimaru was quite the literal sneaky snake. She let out another gasp as some tree branches attacked her. She jumped back.

 _Amaterasu!_

The branches she just dodged were covered in black flames and burned to ash in less than a second.

"I can take care of myself honey, you don't have to exhaust your visual prowess for me" she scolded him with a smile. She was rather touched that Sasuke would go to such lengths to protect her.

"That's new..." Sasuke oberved as he ignored Sakura. What he just did was actually a natural reflex. But he wouldn't tell her that. Anyway, since when did this hideout had such traps?

"Who's there?" a voice asked them. Sakura smiled. She knew that voice, and it had been so long since she heard it.

"It's me and Sasuke, captain Yamato" she answered.

"Sakura Haruno" Yamato smiled as he revealed himself, who was camouflaged in a tree behind them.

"It's actually Sakura Uchiha now" Sakura smiled as she turned around.

"Kakashi told me you two were together, he didn't mention you were married though"

"We just got married, as a matter of fact" Sasuke spoke up.

"I see... well, congratulations. I'm sorry for the attack, you can never be too careful, and I was only going to restrain you, not for the kill"

"Don't worry, we had it under control" Sakura laughed.

"What are you two doing here anyway?"

"We're here to investigate the murders that have been happening around the area" Sasuke answered.

"Well it can't be Orochimaru, he's under our strict surveillance" Yamato replied.

"I know, but he may have information that could help us"

"What kind of information?"

"I don't see why we should tell you"

"Sasuke" Sakura sighed "we can trust him"

"Hn" Sasuke gave a disapproving grunt.

"Well, if you're on a mission he has a point" Yamato started "besides, I guess I'm better off not knowing" he chuckled "anyway, I can feel Orochimaru has sensed your arrival and I can't allow him to see me, I'll let you through, I trust you two, it was great to see you again, Sakura" he smiled.

"Likewise, Captain Yamato" Sakura waved as he went back into hiding.

Sasuke and Sakura entered the cave that was now visible, and Sakura had to keep following Sasuke through the dark corridors, she was rather surprised that Sasuke kept making turns without thinking it twice, this was a maze and she got lost in it just as soon as she entered it.

"One would think this is your home or something" she spoke up, her voice reverberating through the walls.

"It _was_ , for a couple of months at least" he answered.

"Right..." Sakura said. She felt like saying something about how much it must have sucked, but she thought about it and it was better if they just ignored Sasuke's time as Orochimaru's future vessel, they had talked plenty about Sasuke's dark past and it was not a comfortable conversation for any of them.

"My my, if it isn't my dear Sasuke" Orochimaru said just as soon as both entered the room he was in. It was big, and it looked like a lab, in spite of everything being so dark with only a couple of candles illuminating the room "and Sakura Haruno? This is quite the surprise"

"Sakura _Uchiha_ " she corrected as she glared at him. He still looked the same as he did in the chunin exams, she was so disgusted by him.

"She's your wife?" Orochimaru asked Sasuke, who simply nodded in response, Orochimaru let out his creepy laugh.

"Got a problem with that?" Sakura confronted.

"I just find it amusing that my disciple would marry Tsunade's, that's all" Orochimaru answered with his creepy smirked, Sakura kept glaring, but he ignored it "anyway, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You must know about the brutal murders happening around" Sasuke started.

"I might" Orochimaru smirked.

"We know they were murdered by someone using nature energy"

"And?"

"Anyone with a curse mark that could be responsible?"

"You and Anko are the only ones who had a curse mark and are still alive, surely you must know that" Orochimaru answered "what surprises me, is that you're acting differently with your wife around, it's not like you to beat around the bush, my dear Sasuke. Just ask me what you came here to ask"

"I have to check all my theories" Sasuke growled, hannoyed by Ororchimaru's words.

"That... or you're worried. Who would have thought that after all those years training with me you would end up being so vulnerable because of your _attachments_ "

"So it _is_ Jugo then..." Sasuke said, something that he desperately wished wasn't true.

"I'm afraid so"

"What did you do to him" Sasuke demanded. Sakura stopped glaring at Orochimaru and looked at Sasuke with concern, he was _pissed_. She knew he cared deeply about his friend Jugo.

"Nothing" Orochimaru defended himself "it appears his _urges_ have come back with a vengeance"

"He was doing much better last time I saw him, you put him through one of your fucked up experiments and reawakened that part of him didn't you?" Sasuke growled.

"I did not" he answered with a more serious tone now, he realized if he kept that behaviour he would only continue to anger Sasuke and that was not something he wanted "and I _am_ doing something about it, I do not wish for him to go on such rampages, but the opposite"

"Then what the hell happened"

"We don't know yet. To show you I am willing to cooperate with you and that I also want to stop this, I'll let you work with _them,_ who are investigating it, and bring an end to this unfortunate incident" Orochimaru said as he walked to a table "it has been long since the _taka_ has been together hasn't it?" he smirked as he pressed a button on what appeared to be an intercom "Suigetsu, I'm sending in two very special _guests_ to help"

" _Huh? Who?"_ they could hear through the machine.

"It's a surprise" he smirked again "they're in what used to be Kabuto's lab" he told the couple.

"Let's go" Sasuke said as he started walking.

"You're not going to thank me?" Orochimaru smirked. Sasuke simply ignored him "It was good to see you Sakura, how's Tsunade?"

"Ask her yourself" Sakura glared as she followed her husband.

"It appears he's rubbing some of his attitude on you too" Orochimaru chuckled as they left, his evil smirk never leaving his face.

"This is a surprise alright" Suigetsu grinned as he saw Sasuke enter the room "more like a _double_ surprise!" he said as he saw Sakura "this is your girlfriend this time for real, isn't it?" he laughed.

"Wife, actually" Sasuke answered. Suigetsu's jaw dropped.

"Holy shit, I would have never thought you'd be married!" Suigetsu laughed "nice to finally meet you by the way! I'm Suigetsu, the one who _should_ have been Sasuke's best man, after all that shit we went through, and you didn't even invite me to your wedding Sasuke? What the fuck"

"It was a private ceremony, we didn't invite any friends or anything, so don't take it personally" Sakura smiled as she shook his hand "I'm Sakura"

"I know, _the_ Sakura, Sasuke's Leaf teammate" Suigetsu grinned.

" _The_ Sakura?" she asked.

"Oh yeah!" Suigetsu smiled "I caught Sasuke looking at a picture of you once after the war, it was the first time I ever saw him blush, I knew you were his old lady ever since!"

"Really?" Sakura grinned as she looked at Sasuke.

"I was looking at an old team picture reminiscing, I thought I made that clear" Sasuke explained with an irritated tone, causing the other two to laugh. This was observed by a red haired woman who just got to the door, who was about to run to Sasuke and give him a hug like she would have in the old days, but something stopped her... or rather, something on someone. She was surprised to see _she_ was here with him, even more by what she had on her back...

"That's _exactly_ the expression he had then, too" Suigetsu kept laughing "I can't believe it has taken you this long to introduce her to me, I haven't even met that Uzumaki idiot yet"

"Are you calling him an idiot because he's an Uzumaki? Am I mistaken, or do you want to get punched?" Karin decided to speak up, everyone turned around to face her "Long time no see, Sasuke" she smirked.

"Karin" Sasuke nodded.

"Hi! I'm Sakura!" Sakura smiled.

"Nice to meet you... I take it you're Sasuke's wife? I saw the clan crest on your back" Karin stated.

"Yeah..." Sakura shyly admitted. From what she knew, Karin had something for Sasuke too, so she felt a bit awkward.

"Congratulations" Karin said, with a very serious expression.

"I thought you'd be jealous or something, Karin" Suigetsu said.

"I'm Sasuke's friend, I'm happy for him" she answered. Something did feel weird for all of them though. Sasuke coughed after an awkward silence.

"Anyway... we're here because of Jugo" he said.

"Right..." Suigetsu said as his typical careless attitude completely disappeared.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"Jugo went out for a special mission to the Land of Lightning nearly 6 months ago" Karin started as she adjusted her glasses "we never heard back from him, until about a month ago, when we heard a man fitting his transformed description was sighted murdering someone"

"So you don't know how this happened" Sasuke said.

"No" Karin shook her head "we have no idea what caused him to... _snap_ "

"What did he go there for?"

"Nothing unusual, went to study a new species of lizards Lord Orochimaru was interested in" she answered "not everything is bad news though..." she said, she saw Sasuke raise an eyebrow "I have developed a cure. Ever since this happened, I assumed he's been always transformed and not having control over himself. So I developed this" she said as she picked up a syringe "if we give him this, he'll transform back to the good old, _real_ Jugo in no time, we'll also keep him in check if he takes these shots regularly"

"And what exactly is that?" Sasuke asked her.

"I assume it's an agent that will completely shut off his reception of nature energy right? So that he can't possibly undergo his sage transformation?" Sakura asked Karin.

"Pretty much" she coldly answered. Sasuke and Suigetsu noticed that Karin was being a bit too bitchy to Sakura, they had some idea of why, but they decided to ignore it.

"So all we have to do is find him and give him his _medicine_ " Sasuke said.

"Yeah..." Suigetsu nodded "the actually finding him part is not so easy though... his moves are erratic, he was just sighted in the Land Of Iron three days ago, but just yesterday, we heard he was all of a sudden in the Land of Earth"

"From Iron to Earth? In just two days? How are we supposed to find him?"

"We have people all over the place" Suigetsu said "our best bet is just staying here, wait until he _settles_ somewhere, and go there"

"Guess we have no choice... We'll stay here with you guys and we'll head out when we get the word" Sasuke announced. Sakura looked at him, she wasn't quite sure of staying at _Orochimaru's_ but he had a point... they didn't have much choice.

"You can crash at your old room, no one has used it, I guess your wife will crash with you, Orochimaru won't mind, you'll have more of a problem than him" Suigetsu laughed.

"I'm not too thrilled about it but... it is getting late" Sasuke nodded.

"We'll see you tomorrow, or wake you up if anything happens" Karin said as she left.

"Good night happy couple" Suigetsu laughed before he yawned "and Sakura... don't overthink about Karin's behaviour, she's like that with me as well" he tried to comfort her. Sakura nodded.

Sasuke and Sakura didn't speak much that night. Neither of them liked sleeping there, but well, better than sleeping in the fucking desert, they figured. Sasuke showed Sakura where they would sleep, where the bathroom was and where the kitchen was, since they would probably have to stay there a couple of days. Sakura was surprised that there was a pretty easy way to get by, even if the place looked and felt like a maze. She didn't sleep much that night, though. She just couldn't sleep peacefully there, unlike her husband, who was fast asleep next to her. She decided she would get something to drink and headed to what was the kitchen there. Karin was there, she thought about just getting back to Sasuke's room, but she was really thirsty. She gathered her courage and poured herself a glass of water.

"Good morning" she greeted.

"Morning" Karin nodded.

"Karin... you and I... are we _cool_?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know... things feel kind of _tense_ between us..."

"I meant what I said last night. I'm not jealous Sakura"

"Then why are you so... _cold_ to me?"

"I'm sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable, that's just the way I am... I had a rough childhood" she shrugged.

"I see..." Sakura nodded "I'm not expecting us to get along all of a sudden. But I want to be friends with you... I know you and Sasuke are close, and as his wife, I'd like to get along with you guys, since I know how much you mean to him"

"Do we really mean that much to him though" Karin smirked.

"You do!" Sakura insisted "he speaks the world of you guys, seriously"

"I know... I'm sorry, that was supposed to be a joke about his cold personality"

"Oh..." Sakura smiled "it was a good one then" both chuckled.

"It goes both ways you know... as his friend, I know how much you mean to him, how much he loves you, and I would like us to be friends too" Karin confessed.

"Thank you..." Sakura smiled "I heard Suigetsu say something similar last night... how did you know he loved me? I couldn't tell back in the day"

"Well" Karin adjusted her glasses as she thought "in my case... it was back in the war. When we were fighting the ten tails... I kept checking on his chakra. And I could feel he kept his attention in a particular place away from his... like making sure if someone was alright... I checked and I felt _your_ chakra. That's when I knew he loved you. Perhaps I knew it even better than he did... Sasuke was... _different_ , back then"

"Yeah..." Sakura nodded. She was genuinely touched, since she didn't know that "that's your talent right? You're absurdly good at sensing chakra"

"I guess you could say so..." Karin smirked "and healing. I hear you have quite the chakra control and are an even better healer than I am. Perhaps we are somewhat alike... we were even Sasuke fangirls as kids"

"You could say so..."

"But your thing was real. You really loved, _love_ him" Karin got serious "you were willing to stop him. That day on that bridge... it's long overdue, but thank you for saving my life" Sakura nodded "anyway, I've been thinking about it... and Sasuke going so... crazy... I keep thinking, I should have done more, and not let him go so _dark_ , and you came there, willing to kill him because of what he became... doing it _for him._ I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I get it, and that I admire you in a way"

"Thank you Karin, really... are you sure you don't love him as much as I do though? You're also going that extra mile for him, and not many of us do"

"Look, I get why people think I'm in love with him. I _did_ have a crush on him. But believe me, when you spend your teenage years surrounded by monsters and all of a sudden a guy as handsome as he is pops up, your hormones just take over" she joked, both laughed "anyway my attraction to him was only physical, I used to think that _getting over_ him would be hard, once I found out that _his_ woman was you... but that's the thing, it wasn't. That's how I know I wasn't in love with him" Karin explained "but still, I still care about him, as a friend, I have no idea why, but I do. Maybe it's because he saved me multiple times... but I don't really know, he's just my friend"

"You know... that might just be because you're an Uzumaki, the way you talk about him... it reminds of Naruto in a way"

"So you're saying we Uzumaki have a genetic condition to care about the Uchiha"

"Maybe" Sakura smiled. They both laughed "By the way... Naruto told me you write each other every now and then"

"Yeah... he insists on keeping in touch because we're family. The dude's kind of childish and annoying, but he has a point, we only have each other, when it comes to blood"

"That's more Uchiha like than Uzumaki like" she joked again.

"I like to believe that Naruto is an exception. After all, I've inherited the red hair and he hasn't"

"Yeah... Tsunade has told me that Mito was more like her than her grandfather Hashirama... maybe Naruto's behaviour is an Asura thing"

"Asura?"

"Right, you don't know about that... The Senju and the Uchiha clans come from the Sage of the Six Paths' sons..."

"History lessons in the morning? Fuck that!" Suigetsu appeared.

"Suigetsu! Sakura was telling me something interesting!" Karin scolded.

"And? I thought you didn't like her"

"I do like her! We just decided to become good friends I'll let you know!"

"Seriously? But she's all sweet and you're all... bitchy" Suigetsu's head liquified into water after being punched by Karin as she said that "thanks for proving my point" Suigetsu sighed as his head regenerated "see this is why you'll always be single Karin, no one likes an aggressive woman. Unlike our new friend Sakura, I bet you're a delicate flower and that's why Sasuke likes you" Suigetsu grinned.

"Don't judge a book by its cover" Sakura smirked as she just might be more like Karin than Suigetsu would like.

"No need to act tough Sakura. I can tell you're just a weak girl, but I'm not judging-" he asked for it. After Sakura's sudden punch, not only did his head turn into water like when Karin hit him, but the entire upper half of his body.

"Okay shit... You just might be scarier than Karin..." Suigetsu said in shock. Sakura and Karin started laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you people, making all this noise so early, just shut the fuck up, this is too annoying" Sasuke appeared with a frown.

"Did we wake you up honey?" Sakura grinned.

"No" Sasuke said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. His eyes and crankiness (more than usual) told Sakura otherwise "Suigetsu, we're leaving"

"Why?" he asked.

"Jugo's just been spotted near Waterfall, Orochimaru told me via intercom" he answered as he gulped down his coffee. _So Orochimaru woke him up_ , Sakura thought. That most certainly explained his worse than usual mood.

"Waterfall? It will take us a day or so to get there, we won't get to him in time" Suigetsu countered.

"I can teleport us there"

"Right... I forgot you could do that"

"Just get the fucking shots and let's get moving" Sasuke growled. Suigetsu sighed as he extended his hand to Karin.

"I want to go too, you know" Karin complained.

"Jugo is far too dangerous in his current state, Suigetsu and I will handle this, both of you stay here"

"We're not just some weak women Sasuke" Sakura protested, she just hated when Sasuke would belittle her like that, she had come to learn that it was because he worried about her... but still.

"We do _not_ have time for this shit" Sasuke scowled. Karin sighed and just handed Suigetsu the shots. Sasuke and Suigetsu disappeared via a portal right after that.

"I forgot just how _irritable_ Sasuke could be in the mornings" Karin spoke up "is it because he goes to sleep late?" Karin asked Sakura, since she figured she would know Sasuke's sleeping habits better than anyone.

"I guess you could say so" Sakura nodded. Sasuke had very bad sleeping habits to say the least. He did go to sleep pretty late most nights, but the real reason of his mood was because he would wake up at least twice every night and never had a healthy uninterrupted sleep. He confessed to her that this habit of his started in his younger days, where he was woken up by nightmares. He no longer had nightmares anymore, at least as far as she could tell, but his body just got used to it. It was no wonder he was so irritable in the mornings, or all the time, for that matter.

"Anyway... you were telling me about the Sage of the 6 paths" Karin spoke up after a while.

"Right, didn't know you'd care that much" Sakura smiled.

"I am a sucker for history" Karin shrugged.

"Fair enough" Sakura chuckled " So the Sage had two sons, Indra and Asura..."

 **Hours later**

"So you're basically saying that Sasuke and Madara, or Naruto and Hashirama, are actually the same persons, Indra and Asura" Karin said after hearing the story.

"No" Sakura shook her head "it's not literal reincarnation as one would think, only their chakra. Sasuke, although very similar to Madara because of this, is quite different. As far as I know, I think that Sasuke is more... _rebellious_ than Madara. And I've heard that Naruto is an even bigger idiot than Hashirama"

"I just can't wrap my head around the thought of the First Hokage, called the god of shinobi, was kind of a dumbass"

"I should think so... but after growing up with Naruto... I think I understand perfectly" Sakura smiled.

"Karin! Get your ass in here!" they heard Suigetsu's voice come from another room. They rushed in there to see Sasuke, Suigetsu and an unconscious Jugo, all lying on the floor, in bad shape.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Sakura rushed to her husband, who was panting.

"I'm fine... it was more difficult than I expected... I had to resort to using the Mangekyo, so I'm a bit exhausted" he explained. Sakura nodded as she started healing his wounds out of pure reflex. Karin observed that, used to her being the healer, she felt a bit uncomfortable, since Sasuke was being taken care of... she would have to heal...

"Here" she said with a cold tone to Suigetsu "bite" she offered her arm.

"Oh?" Suigestu smirked, an eye closed since it was injured "I feel honored"

"Don't make me regret it" she scoffed. Suigetsu kept smirking "3..2..." she started counting down. Suigetsu laughed and bit her, she had only allowed him this _pleasure_ twice in all the years they spent together, he was gentle this time. Karin was surprised as she didn't feel any pain because of his sharp teeth, the opposite, it actually felt kind of nice. Different than Sasuke though... perhaps even... She shook her head. _What the hell was_ _that_? She thought as she noticed she might have been blushing.

"Jugo appears to be fine. He should wake up in a few hours" Sakura's voice said, who healed Sasuke in an instant and turned her attention to Jugo. Karin and Suigetsu stared, she really was a remarkable medical ninja.

"How did he give you guys so much trouble?" Karin asked. Back in the day, Suigetsu would restrain him with water, Sasuke used his sharingan and just like that, done in a flash, no problem.

"He was _way_ stronger than ever... full transformation. Used jutsu that we didn't even know he had" Suigetsu explained.

"Well... at least you managed to do it. Problem solved" Karin nodded.

"Doubt it" Sasuke said, all heads turned to look at him "this isn't the end of it... something's out of the ordinary"

"Do you mean he'll wake up and go berserk again?" Karin asked him.

"No" Sasuke shook his head "Jugo will be fine... it's just that... the way he was... I believe someone did that to him. And that someone..."

"What do you mean?" Suigetsu pressured.

"I believe someone captured him, experimented on him, and awakened _that._ And if he experimented on him... that means he could have, and most likely has, experimented on others"

"Why would you think such a thing?"

"Think about it. These incidents have been happening in over 5 countries in very few days. Jugo, not even in that from, can be that fast. It's like he was in two different places at once. I am sure there are more people, with maybe curse marks, out there"

"Shit" Karin sighed "he's right"

"Great" Suigetsu stood up "so now we have to find this guy, because Orochimaru didn't do this"

"It was too easy to be true" Sakura nodded. It would appear that their mission would indeed be as long as they feared.

 **Days Later**

They hadn't moved from the hideout. Jugo was awake and he returned to be his normal self. But he had severe injuries, everything confirmed Sasuke's suspicions. Jugo had been indeed experimented on, that transformation, that was even more powerful than usual, was forced. It did things to his body that he was feeling a very severe backlash from now that he had returned to his normal state. Unfortunately... he couldn't remember a thing. Sakura found drugs in his system. Drugs that could have wiped his memory. It was up to Sakura to help Jugo get back on his feet thanks to her skills, they were making progress. Jugo was regaining some of his memories, and just maybe, they could get the answers they needed from him soon. Sakura was headed to the room were Jugo was resting at again. She had built a bond with Jugo in a very short time. Sakura knew that the real Jugo was a good man hearing what Sasuke told her and seeing it herself via his memories, but she was nonetheless surprised. Jugo was easily the kindest and most pure hearted person she met. It was so fucked up, that such a good person had to live with that.

"How are we feeling today?" she asked as she entered the room with a smile.

"Better" Jugo smiled back.

"You're actually healing pretty fast" she observed as she checked his injuries.

"It's one of the few good things from the curse" he answered. Sakura simply nodded in response.

"Any new memory that has come back?" she asked. Jugo shook his head "is something wrong?" she asked as she noticed Jugo was a bit more out of it than the past days.

"I keep thinking..." he spoke up "that it will come back"

"It won't" Sakura responded "Karin's shots work. And you were doing good before. Don't let what happened get to you"

"I don't know... something was different. And I feel the urges... they're back"

"I can help with that you know" Sakura smiled "from what I can tell it's psychological and I have some expertise in that area"

"Psychological?"

"Yeah. It reacts to certain emotions. It's a self defense mechanism, pretty normal"

" _Normal_ " Jugo sort of mocked.

"Well yeah, in your case your self defense mechanism is quite different, but your emotions are the same as anyone else's, if we work to handle them in a healthy way, I assure you it will be a big help"

"Well in my case it's like starting from zero... I don't understand emotions very well"

"That's okay Jugo, emotions represent themselves in your body. Let's try something. Tell me what you feel in your body, before you... _lose_ it"

"It's not always the same"

"Then one of them"

"Alright..." Jugo thought "let's say someone attacks me... I feel shivers down my chest, or pain even... and after that... I transform and fight"

"That's fear" Sakura nodded "fear of being hurt. And your body reacts by activating a fighting mode. That happens to all of us Jugo, it's completely natural" she explained, Jugo nodded "once you identify that you're feeling fear, you are understanding your body, we can get it under control"

"Fear huh..."

"Fear is a natural emotion Jugo. There is no such thing as an inherently bad emotion. Fear, anger, hatred, sadness... we have those emotions for a reason. Only if we handle them badly, that's when there's a problem"

"Anger... anger is definitely another trigger for my transformations"

"Of course. Emotions that are there to help you defend yourself. It makes perfect sense for them to be the trigger of your transformations"

"But why me? With these emotions I hurt... I... kill. Why do I have to be so destructive?"

"Jugo... there is nothing wrong with you there. You are not the only one who has such problems, and not the only one who's that destructive either. There's someone you know very well that handled anger and hatred poorly, and he would have seriously changed the world for the worst if he didn't learn to handle them properly. "

"Of course..." Jugo said as something became very clear to him "thank you for everything you're doing for me Sakura..." Sakura just smiled in return "you don't have to go this far from me just because you're Sasuke's wife..."

"Jugo, I like to think you as my friend now... forget about Sasuke. I care about you, and I will help you, because that's what friends do. You're a good person and you are not responsible for your... _curse_ , that's bad luck, but you have good luck too, you're not alone, you have friends to help you"

"Thank you..." Jugo smiled.

"Here" Sasuke's voice said as a fruit flew across the room, Jugo caught it "feeling better, Jugo?"

"Yes" Jugo nodded "thanks to your wife"

"Stop thanking me already" Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, stop inflating her ego" Sasuke smirked. Sakura glared.

"Yes Jugo, there's only space for _one_ arrogant son of a bitch here" Sakura scoffed.

"I didn't mean to start a fight between you two..."

"Relax" Sakura laughed "it's all in good fun"

"If you say so..."

"Anyway. Will he be in good shape soon?" Sasuke asked.

"I would say 4 days max" Sakura replied.

"Good, once you're well we'll move and try to get to the bottom of this"

"All of us?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded "maybe it's not a good idea for Jugo to..."

"I want to go" Jugo announced "this started because of me and I want to stop it"

"Jugo it's _not_ your fault"

"He knows" Sasuke interrupted "but Jugo is the only one that can find this bastard, and we'll be there to help him"

"Exactly" Jugo nodded.

"You guys are not going without us" Suigetsu entered the room with a grin "after years, team Taka is going out on a mission again, and we have a new member now"

"A great addition I must add, and this time we're doing the right thing for a change" Karin smirked from the door.

"Only Sakura and I were going on this mission in the first place" Sasuke spoke up "but if you idiots want to come along... I won't stop you"

"What my husband, who has no social skills whatsoever, really means, is that he's been years doing this by himself and it's good to have his _family_ with him for a change" Sakura grinned. Sasuke simply smirked in response.

 _To be continued..._


	20. The Hawk's Nest

_I'm so sorry it has taken me soooooo long to update again... I am trying to make it up with a long one though. Enjoy._

 **Kazekage Office. Hidden Sand Village.**

"So, next point, people going berserk and killing others in different places all over the world, you said you had someone working on it, Kakashi" Onoki, the Tsuchikage, spoke through a TV. Kakashi, who was in the Sand village, and Gaara were the only ones actually present in the room, the other 3 Kage communicating via camera.

"Correct" Kakashi nodded "I have had Sasuke investigating this for over a year now, and he's going to explain it to us"

"The Uchiha? He's itinerant again?" Mei Terumi asked. Kakashi nodded again in response.

"You're giving that boy far too much freedom, we would still have him serving punishment in the Cloud" Ay huffed "but well, to each their own ways"

"Anyway" Onoki coughed "let him tell us"

"Send him in" Gaara instructed to his assistant. He opened the door and Sasuke Uchiha walked in "Thank you for coming in, Sasuke" he greeted as they shook hands.

"No problem" Sasuke answered. Kakashi nudged him, he sighed "My lords" he greeted them with respect, something that was far more weird for him than the people he was addressing.

"My my, don't be so nice to me, I could take it the wrong way..." the Mizukage purred. Sasuke simple looked away in discomfort. Mei always hit on him every time she saw him, it had to be some kind of harassment.

"Lord Mizukage..." Gaara rolled his eyes, he understood Sasuke perfectly as he also took some of her _compliments_ from time to time.

"I can't help myself" Mei smirked.

"Can we please get to the point already" Onoki sighed.

"Just tell them, Uchiha" the Raikage ordered.

"Go ahead, Sasuke" Kakashi reassured.

"Right" Sasuke started "so the reason random people are going on murderous rampages is because they are undergoing a special kind of sage transformation"

"Sage tranformation?" Onoki asked.

"Yes, they unconsciously absorb nature energy and become... _monsters_ , it works like Orochimaru's curse mark, if you're familiar with it"

"So someone is giving people curse marks all around the world?" Mei asked.

"Not exactly"

"Then what is it?"

"About a year ago, a scientist in the Land Of Lightning captured Jugo, the source of these transformations, and took samples of his DNA, much like Orochimaru did back then, he managed to develop a formula that had the same effect as a curse mark, but in a more subtle and direct way. He doesn't need to give someone a curse mark, he just needs to make his victims ingest his toxin and people will undergo the same transformation as Jugo, which makes them lose all their reasoning and turns them into vicious monsters that just want to kill everything in sight. To others, this man was researching a way to make regular people as strong as shinobi, but it turns out that he's a mad scientist that enjoys doing this kind of thing to others"

"This madman has already been apprehended by the Hidden Cloud and will be punished accordingly" the Raikage interrupted.

"But that doesn't explain what happened" Onoki said.

"We've been studying cases all over the world and all the cases have the same trigger" Sasuke answered "the scientist somehow managed to poison random units of Thunder Water products. People who drink these poisoned bottles will transform"

"Are you serious!? That's the biggest international company of bottled water!" Onoki yelled.

"We know... only you can contain the spread of this. We have to stop people drinking Thunder Water until it's controlled"

"But why would he do such a thing?" Gaara asked.

"Psychopaths don't need a reason that makes sense us good people to justify their twisted ways" the Raikage answered.

"What's important right now is preventing people from drinking those poisoned bottles of water" Kakashi spoke up.

"We have to get the feudal lords and our respective governments involved, it's not that easy" Mei explained.

"We know, that's why we called this conference" Kakashi interjected "we have to stop this or more people will die"

"Shouldn't we just make this information public?" Mei asked.

"No" Gaara shook his head "that could create mass hysteria"

"And what about the people that become infected? Isn't there a cure or antidote?"

"There is an antidote to reverse the transformation, but that's not very helpful. 95% of people who become infected will inevitably die, even after transforming because Jugo's DNA is not compatible with them" Sasuke replied.

"We have to stop this from the source" Ay spoke up "Thunder Water has already stopped it's supply, but we can't stop the infected units that have already been shipped, that's up to each individual country, we are already doing everything we can in Lightning, and we recommend all of you to follow the same steps"

"Dear Lord... this is one hell of a task I have to do before my retirement" Onoki complained.

"Anyway, thank you Sasuke, leave the rest to us" Gaara told him.

"You're welcome" Sasuke nodded as he exited the room.

"Sasuke" he heard a familiar voice as he closed the door after him.

"Hinata Hyuga" he observed as he saw his best friend's wife looking at him with a small smile "what are you doing here?"

"I'm in Lord 6th's guard team for this trip" she explained.

" _I will not hear this from all of you! All of your villages had rogue ninja that formed the Akatsuki! The Hidden Cloud will not be lectured by you!"_ they heard Ay, who was yelling that loudly, through the door " _The Hidden Cloud prides itself in being the most honorable village! This scientist acted far away from our village and under the radar, we couldn't have possibly prevented it before it happened! You Leaf and Mist allow shinobi who worked under the Akatsuki roam freely!"_ they could hear Kakashi mumble something about how said shinobi fixed the Lightning's mess.

"I'm afraid I can't let you 2 overhear too much" a Sand nin told them. They both nodded as they walked away.

"I'm not offended by his words, you know" Sasuke spoke up as he saw Hinata's face, which he learned that it meant that something was troubling her, but wouldn't speak up because she was too kind for that.

"That's not it..." she answered "it's just that... I don't think that Cloud has any right to act superior like that... they have their dark secrets too..."

"Oh..." Sasuke nodded, knowing where she was getting to.

"Neji lost his father because of them... and I'm not even supposed to talk about it, but it upsets me... I think you understand"

"Yeah..." Sasuke nodded. It would be a surprise for most, but Sasuke and Hinata had become very close in the years he was back in the Leaf, after all, they were their respective best friends' spouses, so they developed a bond, one big enough for Hinata to be in Sasuke's small circle of confidants that knew the truth about the Uchiha clan, and Hinata herself sharing some secrets of the Hyuga clan with Sasuke. Hinata wasn't as shy as she could be around Sasuke, and was almost a completely different person, the same thing could be said for him. Both of them understood each other perfectly in being two different people to the public and your loved ones, as they were very much alike because of their introverted nature.

"I am aware if was just some of them, and that they were times of war... but they could at least come clean about their questionable actions in the past, like all of us other villages have" Hinata continued.

"I understand perfectly... I've always had a grudge on the Hidden Cloud for this" Sasuke replied. Hinata looked at him, waiting for his explanation "the whole reason they have an entire organization to eliminate rogue ninja, is because they can't allow said ninja to reveal their secrets. It's shady and hypocritical behavior... I learned this fact back in my... darker days"

"Are you saying this is why you attacked the Hidden Cloud back then?" Hinata caught on.

"Exactly" Sasuke nodded "they not only had one jinchuriki, but two, for every person like Naruto or Gaara around the world, the Cloud had two of them. Thanks to Bee I've learned that it wasn't quite the same. But back then... I thought I was punishing the Cloud for their two faced nature, as well as doing a favor to the jinchuriki that endured a life of marginalization... it just made sense back then"

"I understand" Hinata nodded "it makes sense that you had a reason to do that... don't feel too bad about it, it means that you always had a sense of justice, even in your worst days" she smiled.

"Thanks..." Sasuke said, truly appreciating her words "it will never cease to amaze me how we can talk about such things so... naturally"

"Yeah..." Hinata smiled again "it's weird for me too when I think about it. But I missed having these conversations with you... my husband will just try to make me understand the other side, he just doesn't get that one simply needs to let it out every now and then, you understand that"

"I guess I do" Sasuke smirked.

"And speaking of... what about your wife? Didn't she come here with you?"

"She did... I don't know where she is right now, she went do something else while I was here, but she's here in the village"

"I see..." Hinata pondered "Sasuke, would you mind watching over things here for me while I look for her? I just want to say hi, I won't just abandon my position"

"Just don't take too long" Sasuke sighed.

"Thank you very much" Hinata said with the biggest smile she showed so far.

 **Hidden Sand Cemetery**

Sakura Uchiha stood silent in front of a grave. She was just there, paying her respects, after having an inwards conversation with a deceased shinobi that meant a lot to her. She couldn't believe it had been almost a decade since her passing, she remembered her vividly, like her time with her had been just a couple of days ago. A presence around her broke her spiritual moment.

"Hinata?" she said as she saw someone she was not expecting to see there, of all places.

"Sakura" Hinata smiled as they hugged each other.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"I'm in Kakashi's guard, I saw Sasuke so I figured you'd be here too, he's filling in for me so don't worry"

"You got Sasuke to do that for you?" Sakura asked in disbelief, Hinata just nodded in response "you might just be the only woman that he does such things for, and this is coming from his wife" she said before both laughed.

"So this must be Chiyo..." Hinata said as she looked at the grave Sakura was standing in front of, paying her respects as well.

"Yeah..." Sakura nodded as her smile changed to a more melancholic one.

"I figured you'd be here, since you were nowhere to be found in the village"

"Yeah... I had much to tell her... I guess I lost track of time"

"She really means a lot to you doesn't she?"

"In a way she has an influence on me just as big as Lady Tsunade, she really was an amazing woman you know..." Sakura smiled again "back then I had no idea I would eventually had to go through something similar as she did... only now I realize just how heartbreaking it must have been for her to see Sasori fall so low... and having to kill her own grandson... I feel so blessed that I have a happy ending with Sasuke..." Hinata just placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder for comfort, she just knew Sakura needed to let her thoughts out, they were practically sisters, she just needed her to listen "and after seeing him die with my own eyes, after all these years, I guess I understand Sasori... why he ended up like that. It makes me wonder, if he could have been saved... but maybe he was too far gone, he was not even human anymore. I guess that what I'm trying to say is that all this time with Sasuke, it has made me see things differently. I see what we would call _evil_ differently now. I don't feel the disgust I felt towards such people, not even Orochimaru" she let out. Hinata nodded. Sakura had changed since she last saw her a year ago, she was _different_. More mature, even more compassionate. Hinata saw that this would be her eventual evolution, starting when she started dating Sasuke. But still, she was surprised with Sakura's views, having nothing more than respect for them "I'm still trying to figure it out. The difference between those who can be redeemed and those who can't. And how to deal with those who can't. My husband sees it. But I can't. Not yet"

"This must be because I'm my husband's wife..." Hinata finally spoke up "but I believe that there's no such thing as someone who's too far gone. Everyone has a reason to fall, and everyone can be rescued from it"

"I do understand that... but I think there _is_ a limit Hinata... I've been observing lately, and I've seen things that challenge that pure vision of the world. This must be because _I am my husband's wife_ , but I just know that some people deserve redemption, while others only deserve punishment" Hinata just knew who Sakura was thinking of... the Hidden Leaf elders. She noticed she was wearing the Uchiha clan crest on her back, but only now she realized that it meant much more. Sakura was an Uchiha. She felt what happened to them just as deeply as her husband "I apologize for the rant..." Sakura shyly smiled "I just had too many thoughts and I had to share them out loud. You made me think of the new generation... and the world we're leaving to them. Congratulations, by the way!"

"How did you...?" Hinata furiously blushed.

"I'm a medical ninja Hinata, I see all the signs as clear as day... I could see you a mile from here and I would still be able to tell that you're pregnant" she smiled.

"Well I guess that cat's out of the bag..."

"I am so happy for you though!" Sakura hugged her again "I wish I could be the godmother.."

"We did think of you Sakura... and we _wanted_ you. But given your current... absence... we decided that my sister would make more sense"

"Don't be silly Hinata, of course Hanabi is the best choice!" Sakura beamed, showing she took no offense at all. Hinata gladly smiled.

"It was great to be able to see you Sakura, and I told you, or rather you found out, what I had to tell you... but I really should get back to my position now, your husband must be becoming impatient by now"

"Yeah" Sakura laughed "likewise" she said as she hugged her yet again "tell Sasuke I'll be waiting by the gate okay? We're leaving towards Rain soon" Hinata nodded as they said their goodbyes and walked in opposite directions.

Sakura smiled as she walked towards the Hidden Sand gate. She was so happy for Hinata. And Ino, who sent her a letter telling her she was pregnant herself a couple of weeks before. Her best friends were already going to be mothers. She couldn't help it. She started thinking about motherhood. She couldn't wait to have children herself. But it was more... _complicated,_ for her. Bringing a new Uchiha to the world, after the clan's practical extinction, was a much bigger deal. Unlike her husband, she was sure that the Hidden Leaf would be completely safe for the next generation of the Uchiha clan. But she needed more time. She felt almost ready. The current elders' time was drawing near, and Kakashi was the Hokage, a new government that she could trust made her feel more at peace with the Hidden Leaf. But when it came to her husband... different story. They never talked too much about it. From what Sakura could tell, Sasuke simply wasn't ready yet. She had to warm him up to it, just a little bit more. That time was so close to her, and she wished it could come as fast as possible. But not yet. Just as her mind was thinking about that... her body told her she couldn't wait. The time was coming, regardless of her being ready or not. All of a sudden, she felt sick. She had to stop walking. And she felt it coming. She ran towards the nearest trash can and emptied her breakfast in the form of vomit through her mouth in it. When she finished, she just stood there in the middle of the street, some people staring, but she couldn't care less about that then. There was just no way. It couldn't be.

 **Days later. Hidden Rain**

Sasuke and Sakura arrived to the Hidden Rain after 3 days of traveling. Sasuke as very worried about his wife. She appeared to be sick. She did her best to hide it, but Sasuke was fully aware that she threw up behind his back one morning. Apart from that, she appeared to be fine and she could keep up with the physical demands of traveling shinobi style. But something was off with her. She was just out of it. Acting strangely. Of course, he brought the subject up, only to be met with Sakura waving him off and insisting that she was fine and there was no reason to worry. But Sasuke knew better. That stubborn wife of his refused to admit that she was sick. He was glad they finally made it to a village. He was going to force her to take it easy for a while. They were heading to a motel to meet with the rest of team Taka, who went there ahead of them, and she was going to rest there and let Karin cure her while the rest did the work.

On the other side, Sakura was terrified. She just couldn't bring herself to tell Sasuke what the real issue was. And of course, she couldn't keep him in the dark for much longer. She would rather be the one herself to tell him that he knocked her up. She just couldn't understand how. She was on birth control. It had never failed in 5 years, but it somehow did. Anyway, obsessing about that was meaningless, the fact was, she was pregnant. And she was so afraid of how Sasuke would react. If she didn't feel ready, then Sasuke was far less than that. She replayed the scene over and over on her head. _Hey honey remember how you said you want the world to have a better impression of the Uchiha before we have kids? Well... you'd better hope it does by now because your little swimmers found a way past my birth control._ The timing was just awful. They were on an important mission, helping the Hidden Rain rebuild. After the death of Pain, the Hidden Rain became a chaotic village where rogue ninja would battle to claim it for years now. Some would see it as the Hidden Leaf interfering, but it really wasn't. Sasuke and his companions were there to fight off invading rogue ninja and to ensure that the Hidden Rain was rebuilt by and for the Hidden Rain. They were back up, and there because they wanted to, not because of Hidden Leaf orders, well sort of, but it was more their decision than the 6th Hokage's. It was the Uchiha and the Rinnegan that turned the Hidden Rain into the Akatsuki's base of operations, Sasuke felt it was right that this time, they should do the opposite and use those to give the Rain the power to rule over their own village, and not take it from them. A "mission" that could last at least a year. A terrible time for Sakura to be pregnant, to say the least.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Suigetsu teased as he saw Sasuke and Sakura enter the house they would be staying at "you'd better settle in quick because the Rain jonin you met up with are starting to get a little impatient"

"My wife will take care of that, you, Jugo and me will go there in a moment" Sasuke answered "Karin, Sakura is sick, so please take care of her, she just won't admit it, you know her" Sakura angrily glared at him.

"What happened?" Karin asked as she looked at Sakura. She checked her chakra to see what was wrong with her. And she felt it. It would be so much easier if she was just _sick_. _Oh shit_... she thought. Things were about to change, forever.

"For the fucking last time Sasuke..." Sakura barked " I. Am not. Sick"

"I am not having this, Sakura. Since you don't worry about yourself, it's my job to do it. You are going to rest and get better. Even if I have to make you do that" Sasuke stubbornly countered.

"I feel fine. There's nothing _wrong_ with me. And _I_ am the medical ninja, not you! So if I say I'm fine, I'm fine! Stop making a big deal out of this!" she yelled.

"Why the hell do you have to be like this!?" Sasuke yelled back "I _know_ something's wrong with you, and I will do something about it, even if you refuse to tell me!"

"You want me to tell you? Fine!" she yelled as she turned back to look at the others, there was no other option. She just had to tell him, the fight could get so much worse if she kept it hidden from him "can we get some privacy?" she asked. They nodded and went upstairs to their rooms, knowing how nasty these fights between the marriage could get. Especially Karin, who gave Sakura a look that wished her good luck, not knowing what to expect from Sasuke herself. Sakura nodded, reading Karin loud and clear, knowing she could have figured out her pregnancy by detecting a different chakra emitting from her body.

"So what is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I..." Sakura mumbled. She just couldn't find the right way to say it. Sakura's radical change in behavior, expecting her to yell even more instead of being _afraid_ , made Sasuke get even more worried than anticipated.

"It's serious isn't it..." Sasuke gulped as he looked at his wife.

"I guess it is _serious_..." she looked down "but I insist, there is nothing _wrong_ with me..."

"Sakura I know you've been throwing up, in spite of you hiding it from me..."

"That's just..." Sakura gulped "morning sickness..." she decided to let Sasuke figure it out, not finding the right way to say it herself.

"It doesn't matter if it's just in the mornings Sakura" Sasuke said. Sakura sighed. Why did her husband had to be so fucking dense when it came to such situations?

"Sasuke... it's normal for a _woman_ to get morning sickness when she's..." she had to sit down.

" _Sick_ " he finished. Sasuke was not dumb. He knew where she was going. He just couldn't say it, or think about it. It was just not possible.

"No you idiot!" she yelled, finally losing her patience "when she's _pregnant_!" she finally said it. She finally let the word out. There was no going back now. Sasuke's eyes widened. He knew it was coming, but he still wasn't ready for it. Hearing his wife say that, it shattered his world... there was this feeling he had these days that told him that just maybe, he had impreganted her. It made perfect sense now that he knew the fact. The mood swings, the way she acted these days... she was genuinely terrified of telling him she was pregnant. Sakura was pregnant. She was carrying an Uchiha insider her. He always knew this day would come eventually, but he was not ready to actually know this was happening. He had to sit down.

"How..." was all he could say while he ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know!" Sakura said after seeing Sasuke _devastated_. The seconds where she saw his eyes widen, a million thoughts run through his head, having to sit down, and waiting for him to just _say something_ were easily the longest seconds in her entire life. She was right to be afraid. Sasuke was not ready to be a father, she had never seen him lose his cool like this "the birth control has been working for years! I have no idea how this happened! I'm so sorry!" she yelled while tears fell down her face. Sasuke turned to look at her. She was _sad_. That was all he could think about at the moment. The fear his wife had to live with these days.

"...Sorry?" he spoke up after a while, in which only Sakura's sobs could be heard "why are you _sorry_?" he asked.

"I know this is a bad time! I know you're not ready to be a father! I'm so sorry!" she insisted.

"You're right" he said as he stood up, walked to her, knelt in front of her and took her hand "I'm not ready to be a father..." he sighed "but come to think of it, I don't think I was ever going to be..."

"Huh?" Sakura looked up, surprised at the tenderness of his voice, even more surprised to see Sasuke smile, one of those rare smiles she had only seen as much as the fingers on one of her hands.

"Don't be sad..." he answered "this is _good_ news" he reassured.

"You mean..." Sakura mumbled, dumbfounded "you're actually... happy?"

"Yes..." he nodded "I don't know how or why, but I am happy" he confessed "having a child with you... it makes me happy"

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she hugged her husband "If I had known you'd be so accepting of this... I was so _afraid_ of your reaction..." she confessed.

" _I_ am the one who's sorry for making you feel that way..." he whispered into her ear. Sakura let out a sob of happiness "but to be fair, being afraid of me is just common sense" he smirked. Sakura smacked him for making a stupid joke in a situation like that, but she smiled and gave him a kiss after that.

"We're having a baby..." she said. Not believing Sasuke was fully on board with it, and that she could do what she had been wanted to do for a long time now with his total support.

"We are" he nodded.

"But what about the mission? What are we going to do now?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it. You need to be somewhere safe, not on a mission with me. Even so, I'll be with you more often than not. If you thought I have been overprotective so far... be ready. Because there's two of you now"

"I;m looking forward to it" she smiled. This was happening, and yes, they might not have been ready for it, but they were going to deal with it anyway. The Uchiha clan was going to have a new true blood member, and he or she could not get there soon enough. Sasuke and Sakura simply hugged each other and smiled. No words needed. They were the happiest they had ever been in their entire lives.

 **Later that night**

"So I talked to the guys" Suigetsu said as he opened the door and entered the living room where the rest of team Taka was "no problem, they are happy to sub in for us a while, while you guys get things... _arranged_ "

"That's great news" Jugo nodded.

"Are they strong enough?" Sasuke asked.

"They don't have _divine_ powers like you, but they are strong enough to handle a couple of rogue ninja" Suigetsu sighed.

"And they'll _tag in_ for us just like that, no problem whatsoever" Sakura stated, not believing that things could be solved so easily.

"Yeah! You know we are something like heroes to them, since we freed them from Orochimaru" Suigetsu grinned.

" _We_?" Karin teased.

" _I_ actually freed them, so yeah, _we_ " Suigestu glared.

"That fucking ego of yours..." Karin scoffed.

"So you're a _hero_ to Orochimaru's prisoners huh..." Sakura teased Sasuke "you never told me that" Sasuke simply grunted in response "you punish yourself for all the bad things you did, yet even then, you did good for people Sasuke, it's like you refuse to see you were never truly evil. As a matter of fact, all of you guys. You are working for Orochimaru for the greater good, keeping him in check and doing noble things deep down. As far as I'm concerned, you _are_ heroes, you don't deserve the rep you have" Sakura said.

"You give us far too much credit..." Jugo modestly answered.

"No, you guys are good people, and you have to admit it to yourselves, instead of torturing yourselves for a handful of bad things you did in the past. I have been with you guys for over a year now, and we've become a family, looking out not only for each other, but for other people who need it. You guys are good people and I will make sure to remember you of that fact often" Sakura insisted.

"I can take that compliment, but you considering me _family_ , that I can't accept" Karin answered.

"You _are_ Karin, you're taking me in in your hideout while I'm pregnant, I can't thank you enough for that"

"It's the least I could do..." Karin shrugged "Sasuke freed me from prison after being released when he didn't have to, I'll gladly repay that debt ensuring the well being of his future child"

"I specifically told you that you wouldn't owe me anything for that" Sasuke sighed.

"And I said that I am responsible for the actions that got me in there, not you, and I was repaying you that favor anyway" Karin snapped back. Sasuke simply sighed knowing there was no use in arguing further.

"You never did tell me about how you bailed them out back then" Sakura teased, knowing this made Sasuke uncomfortable and taking pleasure in it.

"Well my case and Karin's weren't that hard. He just had to convince our lands we weren't a threat anymore, and they agreed, so we were freed" Jugo explained.

"And Suigetsu?" Sakura asked. Suigetsu sweat dropped.

"Do tell her, I'll fact check" Karin smirked.

"The appropriate version, I heard he got out, asked him from the Mist if he could help a friend out, he did, end of story" Suigetsu explained.

"You're missing out quite an important detail"

"Look it's not something Sakura should know about" he said. Both Sasuke and Jugo looked at him questioningly. Karin and Suigetsu were plotting something.

"She should" Karin smirked.

"She shouldn't, right Sasuke?"

"I don't see why not..." Sasuke hesitantly answered.

"Dude she's your _wife_ , she won't like that"

"She won't like what? I don't know what you guys are talking about"

"Yeah right..."

"Okay what the hell happened?" Sakura demanded.

"I'll tell you" Karin spoke up.

"Don't" Suigetsu warned.

"Suigetsu pimped your husband out to the 5th Mizukage to buy his freedom" she explained anyway.

"He _what_!?"

"Look Mist prison sucks okay? I heard Sasuke got out of the Leaf's, and people inside told me that the Mizukage is some kind of cougar and had the hots for Sasuke, so I asked for his help"

"You did _not_..." Sakura gasped at her husband.

"Of course not! Where the hell did you get that from, you morons? The terms of your freedom say something very different!" Sasuke barked at Suigetsu. Who was smirking. Sakura's face was turning red, with anger and jealousy "This is not true Sakura, I swear" he explained to her. Karin erupted into laughter.

"Relax Sakura we're just messing with you guys" she explained "just wanted to prove to you that you're just as jealous as Sasuke is, that's all" she stuck her tongue out.

"That's not funny!" Sakura yelled, while Karin and Suigetsu laughed even more "I know the Mizukage hits on Sasuke, I've seen it myself, and I must admit she's pretty hot, I totally fell for it!"

"It is pretty weird you never took her up on her offers, though" Suigetsu told Sasuke "I mean she was so hot. Literally"

"If you say so..." Sasuke dismissed.

"You don't have to act like she's not attractive just because I'm here" Sakura interrupted "I mean, I admitted to you that I found Madara pretty hot, I won't be mad at you for liking a good looking woman" she shrugged.

"Madara?" Jugo asked. Sakura nodded.

"I second that. Uchihas are just irresistible" Karin winked. Sakura simply laughed "A bit too dead for my taste though. But I'll admit the dude was hot. So Sasuke, stop acting all cool and admit the truth for a living woman, I mean she must be near her 50's and she still looks pretty good, that woman is a goddess of beauty"

"Nah age has caught up with her, she's not _that_ hot anymore and going worse. But she was those days" Suigetsu spoke up.

"Just admit it" Sakura insisted.

"Fine, she was hot. I'm a man after all. But I wouldn't have done anything with her" Sasuke confessed.

"Why?" Karin asked him.

"Because I was in love with Sakura" Sasuke simply answered.

"Yeah right... you used to have balls dude" Suigetsu mocked while Karin laughed with him. Sakura just blushed. Because she knew he was being absolutely honest. That was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

"Enough about that" Sakura said "what was the _real_ reason you got bailed though?" she asked Suigetsu.

"Oh. The using Sasuke to my advantage because of the Mizukage part is true" he answered "but the reason she agreed to free me was in exchange for me retrieving and handing back the 7 Mist swords that were lost in the war, in return" Sakura nodded "speaking of which..." he said "I just have 2 left. I heard the Thunderswords have recently been spotted, so if it's cool with you guys, I'll split for a while and finish my job, I just have 2 years left or it's back to prison"

"I understand" Sasuke nodded.

"Thanks, man" Suigetsu smiled.

"Suigetsu, a word" Karin stood up and left the room. Suigetsu sighed and followed her "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?" he tilted his head.

"Sakura's pregnant and Sasuke will handle the Rain business, and you're going to leave him all alone?"

"What about Jugo?"

"Jugo said he was _splitting_ a long time ago to research about his clan, way before we found out about Sakura. He has the priority, you should stay"

"He has the fucking Rinnegan, he'll be fine" Suigetsu shrugged.

"That's not the point! Besides, you're going to leave me all alone to answer to Orochimaru!?" she raised her voice.

"Scared of the big bad snake?" he teased.

"You're a fucking douchebag!"

"Here we go..."

" _Here we go_ with what!?"

"The bitching"

"Suigetsu Hozuki!" she yelled before punching him and him turning into water.

Back in the living room...

"For the life of me, I can't figure out why they fight so much..." Sasuke sighed.

"Agreed" Jugo nodded.

"You guys can't be _that_ clueless" Sakura sighed.

"What do you mean?" Jugo asked her.

"It's obvious"

"What's obvious?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Come on honey doesn't it look familiar? Their _fights_ are the spitting image of Shikamaru's and Temari's. Or ours, for that matter" Sakura explained like if she was talking to children.

"You don't seriously mean..." Jugo started.

"Yeah, there is obviously love behind all that fighting"

"As if..." Sasuke snorted.

"I have to agree" Jugo added.

"Something would have happened by now if that's the case" Sasuke continued.

"It will happen eventually... Wanna bet?" Sakura defended herself.

"Sure" Sasuke smirked "easiest money ever. 1000 ryo"

"You're on. But I'll only pay up if they haven't gotten together when we're old, like really old. These things can take a long time"

"Sure" Sasuke shrugged, confident about his odds.

"Anyway look at the time, I should start making dinner" Sakura got up and left the men sitting on the couch.

"That's my wife. Seeing such things everywhere..." Sasuke sighed.

"Yeah" Jugo chuckled.

"What about you though" Sasuke changed the subject "do you think you'll ever find love? Do you want to find it?"

"Maybe... if she doesn't want to or can't have children you know?" Jugo replied.

"Your mind hasn't changed huh..."

"No" he shook his head "I can't bring more people like me into this world Sasuke... this curse has to die with me"

"I used to think just like that. But the right woman changed my mind. Never say never"

"It's not the same..."

"I know, but what if we find a definitive cure?"

"I don't know... this is why I'm going to investigate about my clan. I guess I'll think about it if I get answers" Jugo explained. Sasuke nodded.

"Whatever makes you happy..." Sasuke spoke up after a brief silence "I'm just saying, as my friend, I want you to be happy as well" he said as he got up.

"I know Sasuke, and thank you" Jugo smiled. Sasuke nodded in response before both chugged their beers.

 _To be continued..._

 _We will be coming back to the present next chapter!_


End file.
